Here is the checklist you should review in preparation for the onslaught of cicadas in northern NJ.
1) Do not panic
2) Enjoy
There is one extra step for those who may have expensive ornamental shrubs or young trees, and that is to cover them with netting. Cicadas do cause some damage to trees, but for most trees it is inconsequential – and there are no sprays or poisons that are known to prevent the cicadas from doing their thing.
So, for most people, following the two rules above should be enough.
Cicadas are miraculous creatures that are born, burrow underground, and emerge years later only to sing, mate, and die. While an interesting scientific phenomenon, this wondrous life cycle is also the subject of story, song, and metaphor.
The cicada is often symbolic of both love and rebirth. They live to come love, and their emergence from underground is a metaphor for regeneration in myths, poems and stories.
In song, the most famous would be “Como la Cigarra” – “Like the Cicada” -which originated with Maria Elena Walsh. Walsh describes that the song was originally, “… about life, an artist’s life. Sometimes you are very well known, people adore you, and then the next day nobody knows you, no one loves you. That was the idea.”
“La Cigarra” went on to have a life of it’s own as it began to represent the story of survival – be it life or love. In Argentina, it became a theme song for a nation emerging from years of fear living under a dictatorship.
Cicadas, especially in the vast numbers expected this summer, provide an opportunity to enjoy a remarkable orchestra of song. For those who find the music to simply be unbearable noise, you can always eat the cicadas – although it won’t reduce the noise it might provide some satisfaction.
Cicadas are regularly eaten around the world in different cultures, but in America it is normally something people do as a novelty every 13 to 17 years – which is probably often enough.
Cicada Earrings
They are described as having a nutty flavor, though if wrapped in bacon they take on a nutty-bacon flavor; if sauteed in butter, they assume a nutty-buttery flavor.
The corpses and shells of cicadas can also be used in a variety of different crafts. People have made earrings and other jewelry from them, created wreaths, glued them on to flip-flops, or simply incorporated them into art and sculptures.
Below are a few videos that might help inspire readers to enjoy the onslaught of cicadas coming to Oakland – and a couple might simply gross you out.
LINKS:
Cicada Tracker for NJ – Map showing ground temperature and emerging cicadas