Posts Tagged "periodical cicada"

Magic Cicada

Posted by Anita on Jun 23, 2013 in insects, summer, Unmowed Blog, wildlife | 3 comments

Driving south on the Thruway, and I slowly become aware there’s a strange buzzing noise going on. Oh, god, no—must be something with the engine. It’s a penetrating, grating sound, clearly mechanical. I slow down—it gets louder. I roll down the window—it rises to an eerie shriek. I stop at the first rest area, and turn the car off. The noise keeps going. My ears actually hurt with the most annoying sound ever devised by nature: the love song of ten million cicadas. The fence at the edge of the rest area is draped with bittersweet and poison ivy vines, and the metal chain links are practically...