Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

ARTelevision · 06-08-2004, 08:57 AM

There has been no emergence of Brood X in our secluded valley here within 100 miles of Philly. Nearby areas have them but not us - so far anyway. We have noticed that spring things are a week or two behind in our sheltered ecosystem. But it does seem to be a pattern in the NE.

........................................

This isn't Philadelphia's

Missing: One large, loud Cicada invasion.

Philadelphia Inquirer

About those cicadas.

Maybe next time.

If you're not ducking swarms of them, donning noise-killing headphones, or blasting them off the porch with a power washer, you probably won't be.

We're about halfway through the emergence of Brood X, the 17-year cicadas that are wreaking havoc with PGA tournaments in Ohio and violating OSHA sound rules in Maryland...

And fizzling, like the comet Kohoutek, in Philadelphia.

In fact, there has not been a bona fide Brood X sighting inside the city limits, according to Jason Weintraub, entomologist at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia - although a man from Mayfair named Johnny Johnson did write to a bug Web site about a ghostly white nymph attached to his rowhouse.

In New Jersey, you'd be hard-pressed to find one south of Princeton, Weintraub says.

In suburban Philadelphia, noisy knots of biblical proportions have descended on neighborhoods in Haverford and Bryn Mawr. They're thick in Marlborough Township's Green Lane Park, choking pockets of Chester County.

Reports collected by the American Entomological Society back him up: On the whole, Brood X has been a bust around here.

Blame development. Blame insecticide. Blame the media.

Yes, Weintraub says, it is possible that concrete has covered some of the eggs laid 17 years ago, and that pesticide runoff has killed others.

But today's brood is just as hit-and-miss as it was in 1987, when these periodic pests last emerged, Weintraub says. And that didn't stop predictions of plague proportions.

"There was all this unbelievable media hype in 1987... . The brood's emergence was patchy. They were hard to find."

The closest place to experience Brood X in biblical numbers is the most forested areas between Baltimore and the Beltway north of Washington.

"I was driving up from D.C. Memorial Day weekend, and the sound is deafening," Weintraub says. "I had my car windows rolled up and I had the radio on, and I could hear the cicada songs over that."

The first cicadas emerged around Philadelphia about two weeks ago, and have another two weeks to go before they start dwindling. "Some stragglers are probably emerging now, but most adults have probably already emerged and mated, and the females are flying around, getting ready to lay their eggs," says Weintraub.

"If you have not seen them in your neighborhood," he adds, "you probably won't."

Brood X's spotty performance on the East Coast has made some cicada watchers green.

"Anyone know if they are just 'sleeping in?' " asked Greg, of Brunswick, Md., on cicadamania.net.

"I'm so bummed..." wrote Sebastian of Birmingham, N.Y., on learning that the bugs would pass by his city, an hour north of the Pennsylvania border. "I've been soooo anticipating this, too."

Those lucky enough to have encountered Brood X in full force have come away impressed.

Jeff Justin of Philadelphia, writing on the same Web site, described Thursday what it was like to walk past Haverford College:

"Saw red-eyed cicadas on sidewalk and heard loud squealing sound like a fan motor with a bad bearing. But it was coming from all directions. And for miles."

Those missing the distinct sounds of the three varieties of 17-year cicadas can listen to them on an Internet page maintained by the University of Michigan zoology museum:

insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/

fauna/michigan_cicadas/

Periodical/Index.html#

Magicicada%20broods

Or they can do what Bill Menke, a landscape architect from Swarthmore, does now that he's convinced that he's been spared the noisy visitors:

Go to bed with the windows open.

"You can sleep easy," he says, "because you don't have to listen to them."

06-08-2004, 08:57 AM	#29 (permalink)
ARTelevision I change Location: USA	There has been no emergence of Brood X in our secluded valley here within 100 miles of Philly. Nearby areas have them but not us - so far anyway. We have noticed that spring things are a week or two behind in our sheltered ecosystem. But it does seem to be a pattern in the NE. ........................................ This isn't Philadelphia's Missing: One large, loud Cicada invasion. Philadelphia Inquirer About those cicadas. Maybe next time. If you're not ducking swarms of them, donning noise-killing headphones, or blasting them off the porch with a power washer, you probably won't be. We're about halfway through the emergence of Brood X, the 17-year cicadas that are wreaking havoc with PGA tournaments in Ohio and violating OSHA sound rules in Maryland... And fizzling, like the comet Kohoutek, in Philadelphia. In fact, there has not been a bona fide Brood X sighting inside the city limits, according to Jason Weintraub, entomologist at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia - although a man from Mayfair named Johnny Johnson did write to a bug Web site about a ghostly white nymph attached to his rowhouse. In New Jersey, you'd be hard-pressed to find one south of Princeton, Weintraub says. In suburban Philadelphia, noisy knots of biblical proportions have descended on neighborhoods in Haverford and Bryn Mawr. They're thick in Marlborough Township's Green Lane Park, choking pockets of Chester County. Reports collected by the American Entomological Society back him up: On the whole, Brood X has been a bust around here. Blame development. Blame insecticide. Blame the media. Yes, Weintraub says, it is possible that concrete has covered some of the eggs laid 17 years ago, and that pesticide runoff has killed others. But today's brood is just as hit-and-miss as it was in 1987, when these periodic pests last emerged, Weintraub says. And that didn't stop predictions of plague proportions. "There was all this unbelievable media hype in 1987... . The brood's emergence was patchy. They were hard to find." The closest place to experience Brood X in biblical numbers is the most forested areas between Baltimore and the Beltway north of Washington. "I was driving up from D.C. Memorial Day weekend, and the sound is deafening," Weintraub says. "I had my car windows rolled up and I had the radio on, and I could hear the cicada songs over that." The first cicadas emerged around Philadelphia about two weeks ago, and have another two weeks to go before they start dwindling. "Some stragglers are probably emerging now, but most adults have probably already emerged and mated, and the females are flying around, getting ready to lay their eggs," says Weintraub. "If you have not seen them in your neighborhood," he adds, "you probably won't." Brood X's spotty performance on the East Coast has made some cicada watchers green. "Anyone know if they are just 'sleeping in?' " asked Greg, of Brunswick, Md., on cicadamania.net. "I'm so bummed..." wrote Sebastian of Birmingham, N.Y., on learning that the bugs would pass by his city, an hour north of the Pennsylvania border. "I've been soooo anticipating this, too." Those lucky enough to have encountered Brood X in full force have come away impressed. Jeff Justin of Philadelphia, writing on the same Web site, described Thursday what it was like to walk past Haverford College: "Saw red-eyed cicadas on sidewalk and heard loud squealing sound like a fan motor with a bad bearing. But it was coming from all directions. And for miles." Those missing the distinct sounds of the three varieties of 17-year cicadas can listen to them on an Internet page maintained by the University of Michigan zoology museum: insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/ fauna/michigan_cicadas/ Periodical/Index.html# Magicicada%20broods Or they can do what Bill Menke, a landscape architect from Swarthmore, does now that he's convinced that he's been spared the noisy visitors: Go to bed with the windows open. "You can sleep easy," he says, "because you don't have to listen to them." __________________ create evolution Last edited by ARTelevision; 06-08-2004 at 09:04 AM..