The cicadas aren’t really out in full force this year—at least not in the way their six-legged army carpeted New Jersey last summer. Still, though, you can hear the constant, droning resonance of the males whenever you walk outside.
During their “off years,” they mostly seem to keep out of sight. However, I came across the specimen below walking across a paved path outside my workplace.
What caught my attention with this freakish little guy was his malformed wing. Apparently, metamorphosis didn’t go so well for him. Normally, when they crawl out of their nymphal skins, their wings are supposed to unfold and dry out. In his case, one of his wings got stuck and hardened in a twisted, deformed, useless state.
If he could talk, he’d probably say, “Get this scanner lid off of me!” Or maybe, “Some days it just isn’t worth coming out of your shell.”
ewwwwwwwwww! cicadas are so disgusting! when it’s their year to “appear”, they just fill the streets with dead, crunchy, little bodies.
They may be disgusting, but at the same time, pretty in an odd sort of way. It’s not visible in this picture, but this guy had some beautiful turquoise markings on his back right at the base of his wings.
The carpet of dead cicada bodies last summer, though, reminded me of that scene in the second Indiana Jones movie with all the insects crawling around that secret passageway.
When I look at these little guys, I breathe a sigh of relief that we live in a world where we are much bigger than they are and not the other way around. :-)
Why do I find myself feeling sorry for an icky bug??? Hate it when that happens!
I felt a bit sorry for him too…until I accidentally squashed him.
I’ve seen two of these things in the last week & a half. Nearly freaked me out!
The immense size of these bugs can be startling. The ones with red eyes are kind of freaky as well, almost demonic.