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Monday, August 15, 2016

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?? 

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