Cicadas

[dolmansaxlil]

The cicadas are here. As with all bug related sightings I know this because a student brought one to me on the playground

[wtg]

The serviceberries are abundant this year. I think that's because the birds that normally eat the serviceberries are gorging on cicadas and have no appetite for dessert. We like this. More berries for me.

[ShiroKuro]

I’ve never heard of a service berry!

[wtg]

They're definitely winding down here. Can still hear them, but they aren't as loud as they were a couple of weeks ago. And we don't see any on the driveway or on the bricks on the house.

Haven't seen any zombie cicadas. https://www.nbcchicago.com/cicadas-illinois-chicago-2024/are-you-seeing-this-on-cicadas-in-your-area-it-could-be-a-fungus-that-turns-them-into-zombies/3460833/

Au revoir, buggies. See you again in 17 years.

[wtg]

They're gone, but signs of their recent visit are abundant...and I've been blaming inept squirrel nest builders for dropping chewed off branches on the lawn...turns out it's not the rodents...

https://bygl.osu.edu/node/417

[Rontuner]

Still heard some tuning in the western burbs today...

[wtg]

We're hearing the usual ones we get every year. Saw one on the bricks of our house and it doesn't have the red eyes. Their call is quite a bit different, too.

[Steve Miller]

Didn’t hear any cicadas this year, but the Canadian Soldiers (Mayflies) have been intense!

[wtg]

We have bonus bugs, courtesy of the cicadas.

Mites:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/08/itchy-in-illinois-a-mite-y-boom-in-the-wake-of-cicadas-may-be-to-blame/

[Rontuner]

I had a random bite on my legs after tuning in an area that had cicada swarms. I though a mosquito got me...
Now I have a few more up around my shoulders. Mom confirms the mites are nasty in her neighborhood, where I stop by once a week... At least I know what they are!

Way itchy...