Greensboro Birds

You know it's summer when the cicada's are buzzing

Dog-day cicadas are a true sign that we have settled into summer, their buzzing and rasping filling the hot, humid air from dawn till dusk. Also called annual cicadas, dog-day cicadas are bigger and, in our area, greener than their more infamous periodical counterparts (think Brood X and the like). Josh found the husk of a nymph in our platform feeder and brought it to me, because he’s romantic that way. Unfortunately, I hadn’t had nearly enough coffee yet to take pictures of it, so I asked him to leave it in the feeder till I could get fully caffeinated. By the time I got out there, something had already nabbed it. I was lucky to spot this one landing on a tree a little later.

Hilton Pond found a live dog-day cicada nymph last summer. Check out their fantastic cicada photos and info about this insect’s life cycle. You’ll appreciate that infernal racket a little more once you understand it.