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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  General Discussion  |  Serious Business  |  Topic: More Proof of Armegeddon... Can We Eat Our Way Out? 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: More Proof of Armegeddon... Can We Eat Our Way Out?  (Read 2218 times)
Signe
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on: May 20, 2007, 03:21:45 PM

Quote
Swarms of Cicadas Emerging in Midwest
By TARA BURGHART, Associated Press Writer

1 hour ago

CHICAGO - Coming soon: Brood XIII. It sounds like a bad horror movie. But it's actually the name of the billions of cicadas expected to emerge this month in parts of the Midwest after spending 17 years underground.

The red-eyed, shrimp-sized, flying insects don't bite or sting. But they are known for mating calls that produce a din that can overpower ringing telephones, lawn mowers and power tools.

Brood XIII is expected across northern Illinois, and in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. Cicadas live only about 30 days as adults, and their main goal is mating.

They don't harm humans, although they are clumsy and might fly into people. Birds, squirrels and pets, especially dogs, love to eat them, and they are high in protein.

"They're going to have quite a meal. It's going to be like Thanksgiving for them," said Tom Tiddens, supervisor for plant health care at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

They are periodical cicadas, which are only found in the eastern half of North America. The annual, or dog-day cicadas, that appear every summer are common around the world.

The last massive emergence of periodical cicadas was in 2004, when Brood X emerged after 17 years underground in parts of 15 Eastern states. Some broods emerge after 13 years.

As nymphs burrowing underground, cicadas suck sap from tree roots. Almost all members of a group, or brood, burst from the ground within a couple days of each other.

They quickly climb the nearest vertical surface to molt and unroll their wings. In some heavily wooded areas, as many as 1.5 million cicadas per acre will crowd onto trees, expert say.

"It's one of the greatest insect emergences on Earth," said Daniel Summers, an entomologist at The Field Museum.

A single male's shrill courtship call can reach 90 decibels, equivalent to a kitchen blender. That could sour plans for outdoor events over the next few weeks.

Ravinia Festival, a 103-year-old music festival held north of Chicago, revised its schedule to avoid classical musicians having to compete with the insects, said festival president and CEO Welz Kauffman.

June will see more pop bands outdoors, a few concerts moved indoors and a visit from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. "With 350 voices on stage, they can hold their own against the bugs," Kauffman said.

At the Chicago Botanic Garden, spokeswoman Gloria Ciaccio joked that her advice for brides holding outdoor weddings there will be to put the tent flaps down and turn the music up.

An Illinois company that provides ice sculptures has turned down several outdoor parties over the next month. That's because of what happened when Nadeau Ice Sculptures owner Jim Nadeau delivered a swan statue to a wedding in 1990, during the area's last emergence of the periodical cicadas.

"We put our tray down and immediately the cicadas came off the ground and attacked the ice. Literally, it was a moving sculpture, this big black ugly mass of cicadas constantly moving," said Nadeau.

"I don't want to talk myself out of work, but that was just too gross," he said.

Exactly when the cicadas will emerge is a subject of debate, although there is agreement they emerge once the soil temperature is consistently 64 to 65 degrees for several days. Biologists and insect experts predict the cicadas will emerge between Tuesday and June 1.

The best place to see _ and hear _ the cicadas will be forest preserves, golf courses and any land where there are older trees where the soil has been undisturbed since 1990.

Freelance writer David Hammond runs the LTHForum, a Chicago-based Internet site devoted to culinary matters, and his "foodie" friends want to see what the cicadas taste like.

The insects are eaten in other parts of the world, with descriptions of the taste ranging from shrimp to canned asparagus to not much at all.

No recipe has been decided upon yet, but Hammond assumes they will be fried and perhaps accompanied by a dip or salsa.

"Honestly, they'll probably go down easier that way," he said. "Who knows? Maybe we'll love it. We may have to travel around the country as infestations occur."


My Sig Image: hath rid itself of this mortal coil.
Miasma
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Reply #1 on: May 20, 2007, 04:04:28 PM

It's just an elaborate Blizzard PR event to coincide with the release of the Starcraft 2 Zerg cinematic.
schild
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Reply #2 on: May 20, 2007, 04:55:20 PM

I think this story is a sham. Brood XIII is the litter that Red XIII came from as a pup.
Evil Elvis
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Reply #3 on: May 20, 2007, 05:14:57 PM

It's just an elaborate Blizzard PR event to coincide with the release of the Starcraft 2 Zerg cinematic.
I think this story is a sham. Brood XIII is the litter that Red XIII came from as a pup.

http://www.audiosparx.com/sa/play/port_lofi.cfm/sound_iid.34746

^_^
Merusk
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Reply #4 on: May 20, 2007, 05:22:09 PM

When this happened locally in '04 it was just downright disgusting.  Drifts of dead cicadas or molted cicada shells were blowing across the highways.  Folks couldn't go near the zoo at all, and you couldn't hear anything other than the damned insects in parts of the city.   Also, washing your car at least bi-weekly was mandatory if you didn't want  sun-dried bug goop on it for the rest of the summer.

Bleh. So glad it's not going to happen for another 14 years.

The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
Signe
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Reply #5 on: May 20, 2007, 05:25:35 PM

It really does sound very disgusting.  Good luck and so sorry to people who live in those areas.  Please let us know when it starts so we can provide tea and sympathy. 

My Sig Image: hath rid itself of this mortal coil.
Sir Fodder
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Reply #6 on: May 20, 2007, 05:46:16 PM

I'd say more of an acorny flavor. Was about 12 years old when the swarm hit my town, lots of fun with 5 gallon buckets and M80s (I do regret that now though).
Merusk
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Reply #7 on: May 20, 2007, 07:02:48 PM

Never regret destroying insects.  The only good bug, is a dead bug!

The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
pxib
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Reply #8 on: May 20, 2007, 07:07:53 PM

I am a practiced insectavore and, though I have not sampled that particular species, feel comfortable stating that the cicadas I've had locally are a treat. Grilled live (in a covered pan) and salted, they taste like a beef and bean burrito, but with the pulpy crunch of shelled peanut. If you don't grill them, they'll have a richer and more varied taste, but won't last long... like more popularly edible arthropods, they spoil quickly raw.

The nymphs are, doubtless, of more delicate and desireable texture... and have evolved their strange 17-year cycles to keep themselves away from the beaks and claws of prying predators. Pity.

if at last you do succeed, never try again
Roac
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Reply #9 on: May 20, 2007, 07:29:28 PM

Never regret destroying insects.  The only good bug, is a dead bug!


-Roac
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"Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don't learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us." -SC
Trippy
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Reply #10 on: May 20, 2007, 07:52:26 PM

Never regret destroying insects.  The only good bug, is a dead bug!
Until you need your crops pollinated and then you are screwed.
Merusk
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Reply #11 on: May 20, 2007, 08:19:00 PM

 Thumbs up! Roac,  Thumbs up!.

Never regret destroying insects.  The only good bug, is a dead bug!
Until you need your crops pollinated and then you are screwed.


It's all chemicals, maaaaan.

The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power.
Etro
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Reply #12 on: May 21, 2007, 04:26:16 AM

I bet its been bugging you for days to come out with that one!
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