Cicadas

It seems we are in the midst of a periodical cicada emergence. Walls of the house and shed, fences, tree trunks and even our garden trellis are covered with the empty nymph shells of periodical cicadas. This is so exciting to us - the boys have been so fascinated with watching them emerge from their nymph exoskeletons and spread and dry their wings. We looked them up in our Usborne Mysteries and Marvels of the Insect World and discovered that this mass emergence happens in the South only once every 13 years! So I'm guessing that some emerge every year, because we see one or two shells every years, but this year we are seeing hundreds of them. Does that mean that my oldest will be 20 yrs old and my little guy will be 17 yrs old when this happens again? I'm so glad that they are able to experience this and that they are enjoying the experience so much.

Last night, we read the book Clovis Crawfish and the Singing Cigales. This is a regional book about Louisiana by Mary Alice Fontenot. My kids love the whole Clovis Crawfish series, but this one had special significance because its about a set of Cicadas (twins) as they emerge from their home underground, shed their skin then sing their concert. We were blessed with a mild temperature, so we read the story in the kitchen with the lights low and the back door open (screen door was closed though) so that we could hear the Cigale Twins concert as we read.

Right now, my guys are outside playing with cicada shells and having a blast! Who knew :o)