Bob--

1. Cicada nymphs begin emerging around sunset and continue emerging all
night.  I haven't timed how long it takes the adult to emerge and harden
(turn black), but it's surprisingly fast - though I suspect it takes longer
than an hour.

Around my house, for the past five mornings we've awoken to adults in
various stages of "ripeness" - from snowy white still to all dark and ready
to fly off (or climb) to the treetops.

2.  The cicadas in my neighborhood first emerged a week ago (Sunday night) -
just a very few.  The next night (Monday) was a huge emergence, along with
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights.  Friday and Saturday nights the
numbers of nymphs began to drop off, but there were still a lot.

Some areas relatively close by haven't had any big emergences yet - I recall
from 1987 that cicada emergences varied quite a bit from area to area.  On a
trip to Garrett County back then when cicadas in the DC area were well past
their peak, I found huge numbers still loud and active along I-68 at various
spots in Washington and Allegheny counties.

The cicadas here in Silver Spring are in full song.  The eerie sound is
amazingly loud, especially if you cup your ears as if listening for rails at
Elliott Island.  What an amazing spectacle!

Though many of the birds around here are still snipping the wings off of
their victims, I have also noted that many birds have taken to just biting
heads off cicadas and leaving the winged, headless carcasses behind flapping
madly around in circles.  The heads must be the tastiest part.

All in all, this is the best example of predator satiation that I imagine
any of us will ever see.

Tom Stock
Silver Spring, Md.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Mumford" <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2004 11:24 AM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Off topic: Periodic Cicadas


> Two quick questions, for those who know:
>
> 1. I take it the cicadas emerge just about dawn and have turned black and
> hard within an hour, right?
>
> 2. Do all cicadas in a small area emerge the same day, or over a period of
a
> few days...or even longer?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bob Mumford
> Darnestown
>