27
votes
A rare burst of billions of cicadas will rewire our ecosystems for years to come. The arrival of Brood XIX and Brood XIII will send shockwaves through forest food webs.
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- Authors
- Benji Jones
- Published
- May 6 2024
- Word count
- 1223 words
I love when the Cicadas come! Growing up in Ohio it was always such a cool thing to see. You learned about them in school during spring. One of my classmates dads was really hardcore about them and would collect a few and freeze them, then when a new brood arrived he could compare.
Then almost overnight the entire city gets overrun with these little creatures. I remember walking outside with my mom and dad in the evening and our driveway and trees being overrun as they scrambled to hatch someplace safe. You couldn't walk to the park, ride your bike or go swimming without running into thousands of these things.
My city really embraced these bugs. We had shirts and I believe you even used to be able to order a pizza with them on it. First bug I ever ate was one of these bad boys deep fried and covered in Grippos seasoning. Good times.
Want to know more? Check out - https://cicadasafari.org/
Speaking of cicadas on/in food. Good Mythical Morning recently did a "Will It... " episode where the final dish was a Cicada Enchilada. They've eaten a LOT of insects over the years, but Rhett said it was by far the best tasting insect he's ever had... and that they were surprisingly nutty tasting. :P
I can't tell if you're serious or not as the video in the link specifically mentions, multiple times, that there are no cicadas on the pizza.
I linked the video since it was the only evidence I could find. I swear at one point they did actually have cicada to put on the pizza.
I believe you, stranger things have happened, just honestly couldn't tell if you were joking or it really is a thing.
I love events like this when we think about them in the context of ecology. It's not unlike locust swarms, which essentially move nitrogen from many different areas and can really shift the ecological landscape. I think if I hadn't gone the neuroscience route I might have studied some ecology because the interactions we see are mind boggling!