cicada – The McGerik Homestead

Cicadas

We heard our first cicada of the year on Sunday, June 7. Today I saw the first cicadas of the year. Even Lizzie saw one. She was pawing at one she found in the grass.

A picture of a cicada on a brick — A cicada on a brick

Unlike last year, the numbers of cicadas have returned to normal. Last year, there was a large number of cicadas in our yard.

A picture of a cicada on a post — A cicada on a post.

Every year, starting around mid-July, the cicadas emerge to serenade us. We typically have at any given time, what sounds to my ear, to be two or three cicadas in our yard. This year, however, there have been so many that I am unable to count them by listening. And they emerged earlier than usual, with the first being heard at the tail end of June!

An image of a cicada and exoskeleton — A cicada and a shed exoskeleton on a block of wood.

Near a stump in our yard, I counted nine shed exoskeletons and at least one live cicada.

An image of a cicada and cicada exoskeleton. — A cicada and a shed exoskeleton on a block of wood.

While cicadas and crickets aren’t attractive insects like monarch or swallowtail butterflies, I enjoy the buzz of the cicadas and the trill of crickets, especially at night when I have the bedroom windows open.