Cicadas

[nightglow]

I think most people here would know what cicadas are due to animal crossing, but they are bugs that emerge from the ground after so many years and shed their shells. They fly around and eat tree sap. Males make a buzzing shrill noise while females don't. They come in various colors.

Have you ever seen a cicada in real life? Have any stories?
Have you ever found a cicada shell? Would you be afraid to touch a cicada shell?

Did you know there are over 3,390 species in the world? New ones are discovered each year.
And white strands on the cicada shells are the old breathing tubes.

Have any pics?

I made this thread because I keep finding them outside the past couple of weeks. Right now we have green ones.

 

[Midoriya]

I'm not a fan of bugs/insects to be honest, especially cicadas (just because of how annoying they can be), but yeah I've seen them.

 

[Kitsuragi]

i've seen cicadas and shells a few times. just the other day, i saw a cicada shell outside my house. my boyfriend is horrified of cicadas, i think their wings are really pretty

 

[Foreverfox]

Cicadas are horrible and gross and I want zero to do with seeing them or hearing them. Sadly, whenever I walk outside right now, it is to the cacophony of their sounds.

 

[Xara]

i’ve never seen a cicada or a cicada shell in-person (and i certainly am not going to seek them out— i’m scared of most bugs, cicadas included ), but i hear them a lot where i live!

when i was younger (and very very dumb), i actually thought that the noise cicadas make was coming from the sun and that the noise reflected how hot it was outside on any given day LOL. so any time i’d hear a cicada, i’d be like “damn it’s a scorcher out today”

 

[Zerous]

My first exposure to a cicada was when I first played wild world as a kid! I remember being confused what on earth they were and if they actually made so much noise. Never seen one irl though, I think you can see them in some areas, but they're not very common where I live.

 

[Snek]

I like cicadas. Their songs can be soothing. I've seen lots of videos of cicada songs and Ive enjoyed all of them. I also like how they burrow underground and remain there for years! Its certainly an interesting life cycle.

 

[wrenbow]

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[Paperboy012305]

I think they're rather interesting, they bring a key part in Summer, my least favorite season btw.
I have found only one cicada shell irl before, it was a neat thing to look at.

But back in 2021 there was a swarm of the burrowing cicadas, and it was a weird phenomenon to experience as you'd see many all around you go. Not to mention that they made so much noise because there's so many, but I actually quite enjoyed it.

I don't really give a care for bugs, but these ones are pretty ok.

 

[Nunnafinga]

Cicadas were everywhere during the summer when I was younger but they've pretty much disappeared where I live.I don't even see the shells anymore.My sister and I used to collect the shells in a glass jar.Yeah,that sounds kinda gross but it actually looked somewhat decorative.We used to have green and dark brown/black ones here.

 

[Flicky]

We don't really have them here in the UK. I believe there's only one species, and it's endangered. Because of this, when I was little I thought their songs were just random background noise made for children's cartoons.

The only time I ever encountered them was when I was in Japan, and I had my hotel window open - I fell in love with their songs, and I slept so well because of it. I sometimes listen to recordings when I'm having trouble resting.

 

[Zane]

I love insects and cicadas have been one of my favorites since I was a kid. Idk why but to me they’re really cute. I don’t really see them where I live though. I’ve seen one irl literally only once and it was getting attacked by a wasp. I scared the wasp away but it was already too late. Rip cicada

 

[Yoshi155]

I think the loud, obnoxious bugs I hear outside are cicadas, but I don’t know. If they are, then screw them.

 

[Halloqueen]

I like cicadas, I think they're neat and I enjoy the sounds they make. They add a nice atmosphere, I think.

Stuff like Brood X back in 2021 with its 17-year cycle is also interesting and kinda cool.

I don't know whether I've ever seen one in person, I might have and just didn't dedicate it to memory, but I know that I have seen a shed cicada shell on a tree at least.

I generally maintain an "admire from afar" relationship with insects, I leave most of them alone to do their own things and can appreciate them on an academic level. I very much don't want to touch or be touched by them though. Scared? Not so much. Barring anything that is venomous or otherwise dangerous, I think I'd be fine to let some bugs and arachnids crawl on my hand or whatnot, but outside of that, the concept of just touching a bug feels a bit gross for me personally.

 

[QueenCobra]

A while ago, I remember there was a summer of constant cicadas. (Brood XIX, which sounds like a sci-fi short story.) You couldn’t go outside without seeing or hearing them— it was even in the news. (I mostly remember going to see Kung Fu Panda 2 bc it was too unpleasant outside lol.)
This summer, I’ve only seen a few. My dog saw one on the sidewalk and just…stared at it. It was weird because usually parks at random things, but if you know a Shih-Tzu you know how intense those big brown eyes can be….

 

[Beanz]

i don’t like insects but i do like the sounds cicadas make, and they’re actually kind of cute. i haven’t heard them this year but i remember the cicadas from 2021, they were so loud and their shells were all over my yard. it was interesting seeing cicadas older than i was at that point emerge.

 

[digimon]

i always hear them outside every summer (and they get pretty loud out here!) but i've never actually come across a cicada. unless, maybe i did without knowing i did? LOL if i did come across one, i probably might have mistaken it for a beetle or something? i'm pretty bad with bugs! they make me pretty jumpy but when i eventually calm down, i always try to make sure i try to let it go outside (if i'm inside) if one is near me outside, i steer clear of it

 

[LadyDestani]

I hear and see cicadas all the time where I live. We get them annually. I'm not sure about all the different kinds, but the kind I see are usually dark green on their backs and white on their bellies. Sadly, most of the ones I see are dead or dying. I find them lying on the sidewalk while taking my dog for a walk.

I like cicadas. I find the sounds they make very soothing and I love listening to a chorus of them late at night along with the crickets. I also think the cicada shells are very cute. We have a trellis where they like to emerge so I find a dozen or more of the shells on there every year. I have no problem touching them. In fact, I used one for one of the events on TBT last year I think. We needed to photograph something that floats, so I plucked a cicada shell off my trellis and used it.

 

[AccfSally]

They're a thing where I live, I just came across a dying one a few days ago.

 

[thatawkwardkid]

I've never seen them in real life, even when I went to Japan in the summer. I feel like I would like them for a little while then get sick of them (just like in Animal Crossing).