When I was in the eighth grade, we had a crazy cicada year so bad my mom had to use the windshield wipers while driving. It was like the bugpocalypse for two weeks.
I LOVE cicadas and felt so bad that so many of them were just getting destroyed by circumstance. It was impossible to not step on them. They were everywhere.
They’re so ugly they’re cute. They’re pretty big compared to other bugs and really fun for kids to hold and study. They don’t bite. They don’t sting. They don’t carry diseases. They’re just clumsy bugs that love the trees. AND best of all, they sing.
When my husband moved here from Wisconsin before we got married, he was in awe of the cicada’s song. I always loved the sound of their chirping, but never really appreciated it for what it was until he just wanted to sit and listen to them under the moonlight with me.
They’re fascinating little creatures with the coolest exoskeleton–a great science artifact for kids to find and examine.
Now it’s going to be another big year for the cicada population and I can’t wait to hear them sing en masse again!
Jessica Marie Baumgartner 