Wednesday, September 1, 2010

I've been BUGGED

This is a Cicada. Around here we just call them Locust.. butt they really are NOT locusts.
My mom found this one after it had died. This pic shows it... Upside Down.

This is the cicada from the Top side.
Some of the cicadas that we have here.. live a 2 to 5 year life cycle. That is they type that this one is. They start as an egg that is layed just under the bark of a tree branch or a very young tree. When the Nymph emerges from the egg it drops to the ground and burrows in. Some burrow only an inch or so... others can go as deep as 8.5 inches.


We also have a species that lives a full 17 year cycle... and those are AWFUL. There are so many of them in the 17th. year emergence that they just about drive people crazy with the noise they make. AND the females do a LOT of damage to the trees with their ovipositors. The last year like that they caused almost all of the Dogwood trees in this area to die.

When the nymphs come out of the ground they split open their shell and you can often find those at the base of trees or even on the sides of houses and other buildings.

They are harmless to people and animals. In fact, some people and LOTS of animals Eat them. Especially in a 17th. year. Birds really love them too. They CAN fly... butt not very far.. or very well. My mom says the sound that the Males make to attract a female sounds kinda like... weeeee weeeeee weeeee weeeee weeee weeeeeeee weeeeeeeeeeeee
The old wives tale is that it will FROST 8 weeks after you hear the first Cicada/Locust in the summer. That should mean that THIS year we should have a Frost on September 18 or 19th.
My mom has Always been kinda facinated by these thingys. She has watched numphs "split" and emerge and pump up wings and take to the air. It is a slow process.. about 3 to 4 hours.
There now... You have been bugged by a Cicada.
PeeS.... I switched back to the Old Post version... Which Says... it is GOING AWAY SOON.
Maybe that will fix the problem that some of you have had with my blog being 1/2 off. And Possibly... keep someONE or someTHING from eating the comments you leave for me. hehehe
It is really really odd that not everybuddy was effected by the Half Off thingy.
PeePeeS... Today is Grape Picking/ juice canning day at my house.
Here is how to do it....
Sterilize QT. Jars
Wash and stem ripe grapes
measure one cup of grapes and put into jar ... WHOLE !!!
Add 1/2 cup sugar
Add BOILING water Stir a bit... very carefully.... JUST to help dissolve sugar a bit
leave 1/2 inch headspace
Put two piece lids in place
Hot Water Bath for 15 mins..
You will strain the juice when you open the jar... They should sit for at least 2 weeks before you open any of them.
Easy Peasy recipe... and the Juice is just WONDERFUL TO DRINK! (Butt I wouldn't know about that pawt.)
For 1/2 gallon jars (Those are what my mom uses.)
2 cups of grapes and 1 cup of sugar full jar with water to 1/2 inch headspace and Process in Hot Water Bath for 20 mins..




35 comments:

3 doxies said...

GEE, and ya wonders why you gots dat Strange award like a dozen times...hehehe...I thinks dis just clarified it. Howevers I do likes to chase 'em and eat them when I can. They makes da best crunching sound evers!

Puddles

the teacher's pets said...

Ha Ha, Frankie! Usually we love getting HALF OFF DEALS but not when it has to do with NOT being able to read your whole post! I mean, if we can't read your entire post what on earth do we have to look forward to everyday, anyway? I mean, my mom can't live without finding out what you are doing (and I can't either)! BOL!
Anyway, I cannot stand the noise of cicadas either! Butt I betcha they can't stand listening to my houndy-type bark either!
Daisy

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

We sure hope the old way isn't going away - Mom doesn't want to deal with the new at all.

Ciara is very good at catching those cicadas in flight. Then it is fun trying to get her to drop it. Thanks for the bug lesson.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

The Daily Pip said...

Oh Frankie, those cicadas are nasty - though your photographs are cool!

Have fun canning!

Your pal, Pip

Dexter said...

Frankie! That should have come with a warning. Mom was so freaked out by those bug pictures that she made me scroll through without even reading.

Slobbers,
Mango

Maggie Mae and Max said...

Yum....bugs! :)

WOofs and Licks,
Maggie Mae

Unknown said...

Brudder Rooney LOVES to catch and eat them things!!!

Funny thing, a couple weekends ago he caught one and mom be chasing him round and yelling DROP IT. He be acting like he didn't know what her yelling bout, with his mouth shut tight. Then her heard a little tiny locust noise coming froms his mouth!! For true!
MinnaK

Granite State Pet Sitting said...

Grape Picking sound mighty yummy! That Cicade looks kinda yucky.
We hope you have a Wonderful Day today!

Unknown said...

You sure your mom is making grape juice......or is that hers code word for da Wine?? Hmmm

Those Elgin Pugs said...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


we's flung 'da 'puter so far cross 'da room...

:O :O :O

Ruby and Penny said...

Creepy.
We get an invasion of ArmyWorms here every 10 years. There are so many of them that they blanket the ground. You can't see the road or lawm. They eat all the leaves in an area then march on. When they invade we have a summer without leaves on the trees.
Love ya
Ruby & Penny

Wyatt said...

Big Bugs are creepy. My sister Stanzie would try to eat it...yuck!

Wyatt

BRUTUS said...

EEEEEEeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Mom better get the bug spray in case that thing comes back to life. On second thought maybe she should grab a baseball bat instead!

Snorts-
Brutus & Carmen

Mack said...

Those dang buggies can get loud, can't they??!
Wow 17 years?

Remington said...

Yuck, bugs!

Pippen said...

That's a real fascinating creature... we can say that because we don't have them here!

Sam and Pippen

Peggy Frezon said...

As bugs go, they are pretty interesting!

Sam said...

I HATE those things. They scare me more than bees do.. which is saying a lot.

The Ladies of Beaglebratz Manor said...

Ya mite want tu make shure u don't git any of them bugz mixed in with the Grape pickin'Juice cannin' - that mite not taste tu good. We got them thins' here in Kansas tu - mom hatez'em but we think they iz fun tu chase.

sprinkles said...

Cicadas are rather ugly bugs. I used to live in another state as a kid and they were everywhere. When I first moved there, they didn't bother me at all. But just before we moved again, I became scared of them for some reason.

Peggy Frezon said...

I'm honored that you are following me, a human. If you check out some pix on my blog or website, you will see that my Kelly looks a bit like you. She is part long haired dachshund. What parts, I'll leave that up to you to decide ;) (not her legs, they are long!)

Alli and Frankie said...

Oh my word!!!!!!! No more bugs! More BUNNIES! More BUNNIES!!!!! Oh, those baby bunnies are the cutest things we've seen in a long time! Their tiny ears, tiny little stretched out foot - and you have TWO different nests?! We are so jealous! We only have feral cats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
xoxo Frankie & Oskie

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

They are furry khrunchhy and tasty!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

Anonymous said...

I don't think we have cicadas here. But my mom said she had 'em in the old country when she was growing up. You know - Oak-luh-home-ah. She said she always liked their buzzing. But she didn't know they lived that long!

Wiggles & Wags,
mayzie

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

We get those cicadas, too. AND THEY ARE LOUD!

Right now everyone is awaiting a locust plague predicted to happen soon because of the wet winter, all the crops are growing well.

We like the bunnies best.

XXXOOO Daisy, Kendra & Bella

Bludog said...

Molly sez, "Them's tasty! Live or dead, I like to chomp their heads off and eat 'em!"

Just in case you are wondering, she is talking about the cicadas, not the tasty grapes you are canning. When I was a kid, we used to catch them and play with them. I still don't mind them at all, and I'm still willing to pick them up. They are not a buggy bug to me, and they don't bite or anything. (Lucky for Molly ;-)

houndstooth said...

We have the cicadas here, too, but it's pretty rare to see the ones that aren't the seventeen year ones, and fortunately, this isn't that year! You sure know a lot about them, which I think is pretty cool!

Bunny

Two French Bulldogs said...

yuckE tooE, poopy bugs
Benny & Lily

Sandra said...

Oh my gosh we had one of those cicada thingys come into our new house on our second day here. It flew around crashing into all the walls and then ended up going into our light fixture in the ceiling. What a weirdo! Then it would come out and Uncle Manny had to get up there and get it out. Very strange creature. Mom did not care for it in the house but I told her next time to just let us doggies handle it. Glad to see your blog is back to normal.

Flash, Alven and Dottie

Anonymous said...

That was fury interesting info on the buggies!

The jucie sounds just wonderful!

woo woos, Tessa

Remi said...

Mom says they had those bugs in Montana, too. She got smacked in the head by one about 20 years ago when bike riding. Now I know why she's the way she is now....

Draco and his Mom said...

Boy oh boy Frankie...that is some big bug. I saw one the other day that looked like a giant praying mantis...it was crawling up a tree and I really wanted to eat it.
Wags,
Draco

Lorenza said...

Cicadas! Lots of info about them!
Grape Juice! Sounds delicious!
Thanks for sharing it!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Scout and Freyja said...

We think that they are creepy looking bugs☺

the booker man said...

mr. frankie,
those cicadas are totally creepy!
but have funsies puttin' all those grapes in cans!! mmmm!
*woof*
the booker man