Cicada Invasion Continues Around Chattanooga
May 20, 2024 | HERE News
Regenerated noises in Chattanooga
With their vibrant colors and the characteristic hum that resonates from their wings, Cicadas are back in Chattanooga after thirteen years of absence. While some local folks relish their peculiar appearance and soothing summer sound, many are struggling to adapt to their unwelcome melodramatic return and the residual mess from their discarded shells.
In the words of one local, “They’re big, they fly around, they are kind of annoying, but I like the sound they make honestly….They are colorful but obnoxious.” Notwithstanding, experts recommend cherishing their presence while it lasts, given their brief period of resurrection – typically a month or so before they retreat underground for another thirteen years.
Beneficent Bugs
According to Dr. Nancy Hinkle, an acclaimed Entomologist from University of Georgia, the cicadas are relatively benign. “They will not hurt plants and they are not around for very long. They’ll be coming out here at the end of April and they’ll all be there by the end of May. So, it’s a very short time in which to experience periodical cicadas,” she notes.
The primary mission for these significantly sizable bugs is purely procreational. The procedure of their breeding and growth, however, unfolds over a much longer time frame than one might envisage. Dr. Hinkle explains, “Within a month or so, the eggs will hatch the little babies, which will fall off the tree down into the dirt, burrow into the soil, attach their mouth parts to a tree root and they will suck on tree root sap for the next 12 years and 11 months.”
Delightful or Disruptive?
As with any sudden change in environmental stimuli, community opinions are divided about the cicada invasion. Some are fascinated by their intriguing lifecycle and the rustic hues of their robust exterior; as one Chattanooga resident appreciates, “I do like the orange colors; they are pretty.”
However, there appears to be a majority consensus that the cicadas have indeed overstayed their welcome this season. Bearing the soothing news for the fatigued citizens, entomologists confirm that the thriving cicada population will soon plummet by the onset of the next week, and serenity will be restored in Chattanooga for the next thirteen years. Alas, the fleeting chirrups of the cicadas will once again echo merely in the memories of the local folk.