Mass Emergence

Do you know what made these holes?  They are all over our yard...thousands of them!

Give up already?  It's these little buggers...

 

So what you may say....who hasn't seen a cicada stuck to a tree? 

Your question raises a valid point.  But have you ever seen this many?

or this many...

 

The pictures above are from one tree branch in our front yard.  There are hundreds of cicada exoskeletons, emerging cicadas, and recently emerged ones too.  

The kicker is this...every low tree branch, on every tree in our yard is covered like the one you see in the picture.  Not to mention our garage and garden fence, shrubs and the shed.  

To say we are overrun with cicadas is a vast understatement!  Apparently we are witnessing a 13 or 17 year mass emergence of these little critters.  

When you step out on our doorstep you can hear the cicadas.  It sounds like a broken fan belt in a car. 

Apparently adult cicadas do not eat, but the females can damage woody shrubs and trees when they are laying their eggs.  So we are picking them off our more valuable plants to prevent too much damage.  

But guess who really like the cicadas?  I'll give you a hint...no cicada is seen alive any where in the backyard, unless they are a good 5-6 feet from the ground and are smart enough not to land lower. 

Here is another hint...

Unlucky cicada gets plucked off a plant and carried to the back yard....

Said cicada gets spotted by ferocious golden feathered predator...

 

 The golden feathered predator goes in for the kill...

Unlucky Cicada becomes afternoon snack!

Silly dog wants in on the action.

Have you ever witnessed an mass emergence of cicadas? If this ever happens in your yard...I have one piece of advice.  Wear a hat...cicadas will give you the heebie jeebies when they get caught in your hair.