Cicadas “Brood X”
I’ve just been reading about the very soon appearance of millions and millions of cicadas about to emerge in North America.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/11/trillions-brood-x-cicadas-soil-temperatures?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
I had trouble with the category to put this thread into, Alternative livestock or recipes! I chose general chat. Other than our dog crunching on them, I must say the thought of eating them, doesn’t turn me on. Maybe @judsoncarroll4 has a Southern Appalachian recipe for them! I’m imagining the scene from Forest Gump, “shrimp, I like em’ broiled, baked, fresh, deep fried, with ketchup. You get my drift. Has anyone out there tried or willing to try cicadas as a food (sauce) source? Hope y’all got your ear plugs!
Comments
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That is one I have not yet tried.... but I am told they taste just like shrimp and are very nutritious.
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I would eat them. I hear they taste like shrimp and are good with butter and garlic. I think they are pretty neat honestly. I used to collect the shells.
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Only if it's a survival situation. 😝
@jodienancarrow Good alternative category: The Bush: Wild Game and Survival
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I heard about this and I'm dreading it! They freak me out so much =) haha... But I'm all the way upstate in NY... so maybe they won't make it this far... hopefully. During the summer here, they are already plentiful in the garden, shedding under pumpkin leaves and causing me to shriek as I inspect my plants; they always scare me! haha...
Interesting that they may taste like shrimp! Wow...
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Well, if the Washington Post talks about it...……
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Ugh, @RustBeltCowgirl The illustration of these cicadas reminds me of mites. 😳
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Haven't seen them here yet. Worried about our crops and garden. Any clues on how to keep them from eating everything they see?
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@Cherlynn in those numbers maybe you should get some tasty recipes under your belt! Down here they seem to just eat some leaves on some trees, not a garden or agricultural pest. Luckily we are surrounded by native bush.
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I'm wondering if we will see any this time around. After our big kill zone where they had to bring me everything from frogs to bees. Maybe the circada's bit the dust also. I missed a lot when this happened but I can do without these little monsters
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Here is another story about celebrating/eating these insects.
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@LaurieLovesLearning I’m very partial to dark chocolate but the idea of crunching on these fellas, sorry!
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@jodienancarrow I'm with you on that. I'd go for the insect-less version for sure. But as for the other...the crunch would not be a fit for me.
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@Cherlynn From everything I've read and seen, 17 year cicadas aren't particularly destructive. They might damage some younger trees and shrubs, but it isn't like a swarm of locust coming in. They're just loud.
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My daughter and I have seen several videos of people scooping up handfuls of them several states away from us but we haven't seen any at all. She went outside this afternoon looking for some but there were none to be found.
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Well, as of yesterday we were hearing a few cicadas (and seeing many large grasshoppers, it's so hot & dry) as we went for a walk.
How do you find cicada shells & how would you go about catching the insects?
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@LaurieLovesLearning mostly the shells are attached to tree trunks, fence posts etc. The insects themselves, well maybe a butterfly type net and a good eye!
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I remember these from when I was a kid. They were on the trunk of every tree. They would come out of the shells of their old bodies, crawling out to let their new wings dry. They spend quite a bit of time just sitting there on the trunk, presumably letting their wings dry and get ready.
You will not have any problem finding them if you are in the region that they inhabit. They'll be everywhere. And they are not small.
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I actually have been wanting to try one haha. I heard they are great in honey and butter. But we never got any here. The last few times they were saying there would be cicadas (different cycles) they never showed up.
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I collected their shells when I was a kid.
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They will be on trees mostly. They come out and leave their shells and then sit for awhile. Easy way to get them. Be careful though because they can bite.
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I thought that there was only one type of cicada. Well, I was very wrong! I even found that we have 2-3 types here in my province. @torey has a special mountain type.
This is a cool site! Very noisy too.
Here are recordings from around the world:
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@LaurieLovesLearning WOW! I had no idea we had cicadas here! I have always thought of them as a critter from the eastern side of the continent.
And a special genus for BC, Okanagana with O. bella, O. canadensis, and eight other species within the genus! And two in another genus, Platypedia. I am very surprised that there are so many genus' of one insect commonly referred to as cicadas.
I listened to the calls. I've heard them before but thought that noise was crickets or grasshoppers. You'd have to have a very good ear to be able to tell the difference in some of the species, although some were quite different.
I don't recall ever seeing one but will now be on the look out for them.
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