Creepy Green Dog-Day Cicadas Are Here And They Like To Scream
We all heard about the 17-year Brood X Cicadas that were supposed to be out in full force this summer, but nobody prepared us for the BIGGER green cicadas with the black eyes.
Yep. These dudes like to scream, and they are the things my nightmares are made of.
These creepy guys are known as the Dog-Day Cicadas — and that’s because they come out during the “Dog-Days of Summer.”
Now, what the heck are the Dog-Days of Summer?
I’m glad you asked. The Dog-Days occur during the hottest part of the year — July 3rd through August 11.
The term actually refers to an astrological event, where “the Sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of Earth and part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog.”
But, what in the world does that have to do with these terrifying cicadas?
These Dog-Day Cicadas like to emerge from their slumber during these hotter than hot days of the summer.
Now, these green flying demons take 3 years to mature, but they aren’t all on the same cycle — so we get a different set of Dog-Day Cicadas every year.
We think of these cicadas as coming back each year — but it’s really just different families (if you will) of these cicadas that show up every 2 or 3 years.
They are much larger than periodical cicadas [like the Brood X] and have black eyes. Like all cicadas, they are harmless and like to scream.
Catoctin Mountain Park
You may call them “harmless,” but tell that to my fight-or-flight response that kicks in when one of these suckers dive bombs my head!
I’m going to be honest — I don’t dislike a lot of things — but these Dog-Day Cicadas are at the top of my NOPE list.
You know what grosses me out even more than these black-eyed green monsters? They leave their brown exoskeletons behind, so you just randomly stumble upon hollow cicada shells during the later part of the summer.
They are disgusting, and they scare me to death — PTSD from when my brother used to leave them on my pillow for me to find.
The noisy critter can even be a benefit to gardeners by aerating the soil and acting as a fertilizer for plants when they die and rot in vast numbers.
Baltimore Sun
They also act as a tasty snack for local wildlife — and a few INSANE humans who like to feed on these beasts.
At least their retched carcasses are of some good to somebody!
If you have never had the pleasure of hearing these repulsive insects, you may hear their “scream” HERE.
