The age old debate Who Left Their Shell

Why do I love finding these ugly, little, lifeless, fragile skins 

of a bug? I can recall looking for them with my sister and other 

friends. It was sort of a game to find as many locust shells as 

one could find It was super fun

While we grew up referring to them as locust shells... they in fact 

(after doing a bit of research) are part of the cicada family. Many 

including friends and family of mine often misnamed the cicadas as 

locusts. No, they are not the same thing.... 

Locusts actually belong to the grasshopper family, and look like a 

grasshopper. Just like grasshoppers they are very destructive in 

nature. They swarm and eat their way through crops as feasting with

the family. They have been known to cause destruction and devastation

that has led to famine and starvation.

Cicadas are less destructive. Cicadas have stout body, broad head and 

beautifully clear membrane wings and large shiny eyes that bulge from 

the side of their head. Cicadas make sounds that nearly sounds like 

music. The male cicadas vibrate their abdomen and produce a buzzing

clicking sound.

The 17 year cicadas stay in the nymph stage laying in the earth and 

when it is time emerge. The "dog day cicada" reappear each year at 

mid-summer. These are known as "annual" cicadas. They have become a 

very important event to summer bringing along their beautiful music

Do you find empty cicadas shells around your area??