Eating cicadas sound fishy? This familiar sound of summer may surprise you

Orlando – The sounds of summer often include kids playing outdoors, the rumbles of thunder in the afternoon with storms – and cicadas. While a lot people may never actually see a cicada, their notable buzzing has probably been heard. Why? It’s loud, very loud.

For some people this sound is a dinner bell. Before we get to why people eat them, let’s start with what a cicada is and how the weather drives their familiar sound.

Florida is home to roughly 19 different species of cicadas. Unlike the swarms the northern states get every 13 to 17 years, the Sunshine State’s cicadas are annuals. That’s right, they join us every year and have a shorter life cycle, roughly three to four years, unlike the Brood X cicadas that live up north.

There are annual cicadas up north as well, but the big swarms are the ones often heard about in the news when they emerge in masses.

What is a cicada?

Cicadas are members of the superfamily Cicadoidea. They have stout bodies, broad heads, clear-membraned wings, and large compound eyes that are often red or black. They are not locusts, grasshoppers, or roaches, despite popular belief. They don’t bite or sting and aren’t considered a pest. They really don’t do anything, but make a lot of noise. So while their bulky appearance can be intimidating, there’s no reason to fear them if one decides to fly into your home, which doesn’t happen often.

Cicadas prefer trees and large shrubs to live in. Female cicadas make little cuts in twigs to lay eggs, which aren’t very noticeable.

The eggs hatch and the nymphs fall to the ground where they burrow to begin eating from the roots of trees, like oaks. These insects are sap lovers. After molting underground four times, they emerge and molt one final time as an adult, leaving a brown exoskeleton behind on the trees. That’s what people are most likely to see. As adults, they live for four to six weeks, feeding on tree sap with a long, beak-like mouth.

The loud noise we hear are male cicadas and they’re looking for love. Unlike crickets, they don’t rub their legs together to make the droning sound. Cicadas use both sides of their thoraxes that have thin, ridged areas of their exoskeletons called tymbals. The cicadas vibrate their tymbals very fast, using muscles in their bodies. The fast vibration releases a sound and about 300-400 sound waves can be sent out every second.

Females make a sound too by clicking their wings. This sound is nowhere near as loud as the male.

Ever notice when it rains you don’t hear the cicada buzzing as much? The noisy insect, like birds, usually find shelter from the rain by crawling under Mother Nature’s umbrella which are the leaves they usually perch on to sing.

Dr. Keith Philips, a professor of biology at Western Kentucky University, said the cicada, like most Floridians, love the summer sunshine and warmth.

“The sound volume is more temperature driven,” Philips said. “They sing longer and louder when it’s hot and sunny versus when the rain cools the air. They’re going to hunker down when it rains much like birds do.”

The love song of the cicada is used to attract female cicadas. Once they mate, they die.

Did you know people have been known to eat cicadas? While the thought of eating one may send chills down your spine, yes they’re edible. Philips says they’re like a soft crustacean.

“People will catch them, break off their wings, head, and legs and eat the bulky body,” Philips said, adding that people have said they have a shrimp-like quality.

According to the FDA, people who have a seafood allergy should avoid eating the insects which are related to crustaceans.

Of course this sent me straight to Google where I found recipes, not because I planned on eating one, but needless to say it peaked my interest. Yes, there are recipes out there.

Noting what Philips said about them being considered a land crustacean, cicadas actually have elevated levels of mercury in them and shouldn’t be consumed in masses. On another note, if you’re allergic to shellfish, it’s not recommended to consume cicadas. They’re actually related to shrimp and lobster.

While “throw another cicada on the barbie!” may not be a phrase heard often, people have been known to boil and fry cicadas as well as use them in soups, cover them in chocolate, and even use them in cupcakes and cocktails while noting they have a nutty flavor or they taste like asparagus.

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