Who knows (Page 2): They can be rather creepy to see, both the discarded larval shell and the adults with those big bulging eyes, but they are completely harmless.

Big dog Loc: Bayshore, Long Island, New York

ZoeyC2000 wrote:

Sounds like a horror movie.

Zoey :)

They can be rather creepy to see, both the discarded larval shell and the adults with those big bulging eyes, but they are completely harmless.

volfman Loc: New Braunfels, Texas

Spiritof27 wrote:

We used to call them 17 year locusts. They're not. Locusts are like grasshoppers kinda.

Spirit,

They are one of the copperhead snake's favorite foods when they do come out. My wife is a snake studier, what ever they call those people. She always warns everyone that if you see cicadas watch out for copperheads.

Spiritof27 Loc: Lincoln, CA

Well they don't bite, so it could be worse. They just make a lot of noise. When they emerge after 17 years they're ready to get down to the business of making more cicadas, and they just have to let everyone know.

Tanglefoot Loc: Brevard, North Carolina

Cicada. I’ve watched them emerge from their nymphal case. The nymph emerges from the ground in the evening and climb onto a tree or rock or whatever is available nearby. The final emergence is a slow process. They don’t do anything fast not even flying.

The newly emerged adult is almost entirely white and slowly (again) color up overnight. They lay their eggs in the tips of branches that brown off and die. The branch tips fall off and the newly hatched nymphs burrow into the ground

Since the cicada has a 13 - 17 year life cycle, most fish live and die never having seen one. Trout, bass and other larger mouthed fish will eat them, but once the Cicada invasion is over you might as well tuck those lures and flies away for the next 13 - 17 years.

drpoin

Tanglefoot wrote:

Cicada. I’ve watched them emerge from their nympha... (show quote)

This was in the news a few weeks ago. THIS year 2020 is the 17th one. The map provided showed their hatching from North to South every few weeks apart. It will be a very noisy year in the woods.

Huntm22 Loc: Northern Utah. - West Haven

troyfrd1 wrote:

Ok but can you fish them

Make great bait when fishing for walleye.

mrenzella Loc: Near Wheeling WV

Yes Mike you can fish with them ---Fantastic bait . Put them on a hook with a rubber band cast them top water and have a ball!

Barnacles Loc: Northern California

When I was a kid, we spent a week on the Colorado river at Blythe and every tree was full of cicadas. What a chorus, it's a bit like the tinnitus I have now. We tried several times to use them for bait, but no luck at all. Maybe the fish were saying "ugh...cicadas AGAIN?"

ZoeyC2000 Loc: Charlotte, N.C.

Barnacles wrote:

When I was a kid, we spent a week on the Colorado river at Blythe and every tree was full of cicadas. What a chorus, it's a bit like the tinnitus I have now. We tried several times to use them for bait, but no luck at all. Maybe the fish were saying "ugh...cicadas AGAIN?"

Hi Mr. Barnacles,
I was wondering if they could be used for bait. I don't think I could pick one up though. I read somewhere that some people in other countries would pull off the heads, wings and legs and roast them. That they were very high in protein. I'd probably die of hunger before Zi could do that.

Zoey :)

Gordon Loc: Charleston South Carolina

ZoeyC2000 wrote:

Hi Mr. Barnacles,
I was wondering if they could be used for bait. I don't think I could pick one up though. I read somewhere that some people in other countries would pull off the heads, wings and legs and roast them. That they were very high in protein. I'd probably die of hunger before Zi could do that.

Zoey :)

So would I Zoey. Not that hungery.

ZoeyC2000 Loc: Charlotte, N.C.

Gordon wrote:

So would I Zoey. Not that hungery.

Hi Mr. Gordon,
Lol, even if I could get it down, it would be back up in seconds :)

Zoey :)

Spiritof27 Loc: Lincoln, CA

I can eat a bug before I can eat a snail. Something in the brain says "no you're not". Couldn't do it when I tried. But I've eaten bugs. No big deal. I've even eaten tarantula. Didn't care for it, but I got it down.

ZoeyC2000 Loc: Charlotte, N.C.

Spiritof27 wrote:

I can eat a bug before I can eat a snail. Something in the brain says "no you're not". Couldn't do it when I tried. But I've eaten bugs. No big deal. I've even eaten tarantula. Didn't care for it, but I got it down.

I would pass on both,
But I love raw clams and oysters on the half shell :)

Zoey :)

Spiritof27 Loc: Lincoln, CA

I've never had a raw clam. But I can eat my share of raw oysters. I said this in another post somewhere on here, I've traveled all over the world and everywhere I ever went, if the locals were eating it, I also ate it. So I've had some strange stuff. Some of it delicious and some not so much, but I at least tried all of it. You never know when an opportunity to try new things like that will present itself again. But I could not bring myself to put a snail in my mouth. I knew if I did and if I managed to get it down, it was coming right back up. Aren't raw clams awfully chewy?

ZoeyC2000 Loc: Charlotte, N.C.

Spiritof27 wrote:

I've never had a raw clam. But I can eat my share... (show quote)

The main difference between snails and escargot. The escargot after caught are fed cornmeal and water for a couple weeks minimum. So they poop out all the impurities like insecticides and other nasty stuff. Then boiled about ten or fifteen minutes. Rumor has it the water is very nasty. But now it's safe to eat. I won't even eat that, maybe I'm to girly. But to pick one up and just eat it. It could make you very sick.

Always,
Zoey :)