locust

[cooter]

u guys are probably gonna think im crazy but tate county is infested with locust (i think i spelled that wright) but u walk outside and the sound is aweful it sounds like millions and millions of crickets i didnt believe it was locust until my huntin buddy called me this morning and said they were all over his fields. I had to go see for myself and sure enough there they were they left his field about ten minutes after i got there and went wright back down across the ditch there were literally millions of these things we found several shells they left behind and guess what they had a bid W on the shells im sure all of u know what this means. Im to young to rembember any other time when locust invaded but they say it was about 20 years ago if any of yall know more about these critters tell me i dont know that much about them

[bwm]

Terrible at my house(South of Olive Branch), especially in the mornings. The sound that is.

[one more pass]

Those are not locust all though that is what most people call them. The are acyually called Cicadas. They don't not harm crops as a locust would. The only harm that they may cause is to roots of trees as they borrow out of the ground. They do come out every 7 and 13 years I think.They do make a lot of noise but they want cause any harm.

[Wingman]

Two common types in this family are the dog-day cicadas and the periodical cicadas. The dog-day cicadas are mostly large blackish insects, usually with greenish markings, that appear each year in July and August. The periodical cicadas, which occur in the eastern US, differ from other eastern species in that they have the eyes and wing veins reddish, they are smaller than most other eastern species, and the adults appear in late May and early June. The life cycle of dog-day cicadas is unknown, but two Japanese woodland species are known to require seven years to mature. The shortest known cicada life cycle is four years, for a grassland species. In dog-day cicadas, even with long life cycles, the broods overlap so that some adults appear each year. The life cycle of the periodical cicadas lasts 13 to 17 years, and in any given area adults are not present each year.
There are at least 13 broods of 17-year cicadas and 5 of 13-year cicadas. these broods emerge in different years and have different geographic ranges. The 17-year cicadas are generally northern and the 13-year cicadas southern, but there is considerable overlap, and both life-cycle types may occur in the same woods ( but would emerge together only once every 221 years). The emergence of some of the larger broods is a very striking event, as the insects in these broods may be extremely numerous.
Cicadas deposit their eggs in the twigs of trees and shrubs. The twigs are usually so severely injured by this egg laying that the terminal part of the twig dies. The eggs generally hatch in a month or so and the nymphs drop to the ground, enter the soil, and feed on roots, particularly of perennial plants. Theh nymphs remain in the ground until they are ready to molt the last time. In the case of the periodical cicadas, this period is 13-17 years. When the last nymphal instar digs its way out of the ground, it climbs up on some object, usually a tree, and fastens its claws in the bark, and the final molt then takes place. The adult stage lasts a month or more.
The principal damage done by cicadas is caused by the egg-laying of the adults. When the adults are numerous, as in years when the periodical cicadas emerge, they may do considerable damage to young trees and nursery stock.
--from "An Introduction to the Study of Insects"
I guess all that time spent in the Entomology lab at State wasn't wasted after all [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
I actually heard Paul Harvey say something about them the other day!

Wingman
ISAIAH 40:31

[ May 16, 2002: Message edited by: Wingman ]

[judge jb]

Wingman, you know entirely toooooo much about locust {aka cadidids} i thought they imerged every 7 years, but i find that we have a 4 year and a 13 year locust.... all i know is that they have red eyes and make a great photo for a swarm of ducks.....haha... from a far away pic.... only kiddin.....

i got in a stand of tinber on a creek bottom today that was full of locust... the sound was un-bearable... they make their sound from rubbin their wings togeather to attract mates.... should have tried that as a teen....
quite a site and sound.. i hope everyone takes the time and wisdom to learn these bugs....

judge jb

[Wingman]

Hehe, locusts and catydids are grasshoppers...cicadas are not [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Wingman
ISAIAH 40:31

[catfishbill]

i hear ya cooter,those things are driveing me crazy right now.i was working on my fathers a/c in his truck last week when they first started,about drove myself crazy hunting for a leak from that hissing noise,but it was those things.it has increased from a low hissing sound to an anoying rumble now.also found some coming out of their shell put them on a hook and the brim loved them.

[swampland]

Hey Judge,
You had wings as a teen?
I had two little horns!
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[img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]