Question:
We had a picnic today- and my little neice had a blast gathering all the Cicada shells off the pine trees.
Lora's Cicada Army
She had as much fun lining them up as she had gathering them
I think she counted 96 in all
All bagged up- ready to take home to show her Papa


Answer:
Wow, she did a great job collecting them . What a cutie she is too


Answer:
Your niece is adorable...the shells I could live without.


Answer:
96!? I have never seen one. They are cool looking, but your neice is waay cuter!


Answer:
Cicadas are big, ugly bugs that make lots of noise and dive bomb your head at night. These are actually the exoskeletons from their final molt to their adult form. (Their smallest adult form, too, I might add- they can grow to be 2-3 inches long) They go through 5 stages of development underground and then climb up on the vegetation (usually a pine tree in my experience) to spend an entire night breaking out and drying before flying away. Their development takes 13 or 17 years- so little Lora won't ever see this many again until she is out of college.


Answer:
Your niece is very brave for handling those! I know cicadas are harmless creatures but they scare the crap out of me! If one flies past me, I run for dear life.

Your niece is a doll Jenna.


Answer:
Originally Posted by jennawing
These are actually the exoskeletons from their final molt to their adult form.
That answers my question.. Why aren't they flying away??
That is very interesting.. I've never heard of them before..


Answer:
I have never heard of or seen one before but I suppose that is because they don't live in Canada. They are very interesting.


Answer:
Originally Posted by jennawing
Cicadas are big, ugly bugs that make lots of noise and dive bomb your head at night. These are actually the exoskeletons from their final molt to their adult form. (Their smallest adult form, too, I might add- they can grow to be 2-3 inches long) They go through 5 stages of development underground and then climb up on the vegetation (usually a pine tree in my experience) to spend an entire night breaking out and drying before flying away. Their development takes 13 or 17 years- so little Lora won't ever see this many again until she is out of college.
Thanks, I actually did know that about them and have heard them in the trees so I know they are there and read a book once about their 17 year life cycle which amazed me. I just have never actually seen one, much less 100!


Answer:
We do have them in Canada, but I've never seen one. You can hear them, though in the summer time - they make a buzzing noise that comes and goes. Some people call them tree frogs for some reason