Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 12:53:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Cicadas
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

Yesterday, during evening twilight, I brought in a wingless cicada
that was walking on the sidewalk.  I put it in the kitchen sink.
It looked like it was trying to climb, so I stood an empty paper
towel roll on end.  The insect soon found it, climbed it to the top,
circumnavigated it a couple times trying to find a way to climb
higher, and then stopped.

Over the next hour it molted.  It was a fascinating process.  It
leaves behind its brown skin, and emerges as a white creature with
four white stubs where wings belong.  Over the next hour the wings
gradually unfurl and turn golden, and the rest of the insect turns
from perfectly white to perfectly black.

It's still apparently unable to fly, though it can make a controlled
landing when tossed.  I'll continue to keep an eye on it.

Those of you with children -- or with the curiosity and sense of
wonder of a child -- might want to do the same.  There are plenty
of cicadas to go around.

I too wonder what Steve means by an area being less than 17 years old.
There are plenty of places with buildings on now them that had no
buildings on them 17 years ago.  But so what?  Cicadas aren't indoor
creatures.
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.