AAARRGH! THE GIANT BUGZ IS COMING!

Hagerstown, Maryland -- When millions of cicadas emerge across the eastern
United States for a rare mating season, they will appear as tasty morsels to
pets who could get sick from eating the insects, officials warned.
The insects are protein-rich but their hard outer shells can cause vomiting
and constipation in cats and dogs, said Randall Lockwood, vice president for
the Humane Society of the United States. "Imagine a yard full of chicken
nuggets, that's sort of what it's going to be like for dogs and cats."
Millions of the large, red-eyed insects will soon emerge from the ground for
a once-every-17-years mating dance lasting well into June. The insects will
climb into trees and shed their shells to reveal their wings. Males will
attract mates through a loud buzzing sound.
The 1&1/2-inch-long bugs "combine all the stuff that particularly dogs like
to chase," Lockwood said. "They're kind of flying pet toys: They are loud,
slow-moving, often low-flying."
The Humane Society advises keeping pets indoors, securing screens and
holding tight to dog leashes outdoors.
[If it was 17 years since *I'd* had sex, I'd be looking for small animals to
kill, too. Oh wait... Nevermind.]
--
The One-and-only Holy MosesT

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On Sun, 2 May 2004 17:12:01 -0500, "Duke of URL"
wrote:

Hagerstown, Maryland -- When millions of cicadas emerge across the
eastern United States for a rare mating season, they will appear as
tasty morsels to pets who could get sick from eating the insects,
officials warned.
The insects are protein-rich but their hard outer shells can cause
vomiting and constipation in cats and dogs, said Randall Lockwood,
vice president for the Humane Society of the United States. "Imagine
a yard full of chicken nuggets, that's sort of what it's going to be
like for dogs and cats." Millions of the large, red-eyed insects
will soon emerge from the ground for a once-every-17-years mating
dance lasting well into June. The insects will climb into trees and
shed their shells to reveal their wings. Males will attract mates
through a loud buzzing sound.
The 1&1/2-inch-long bugs "combine all the stuff that particularly
dogs like to chase," Lockwood said. "They're kind of flying pet
toys: They are loud, slow-moving, often low-flying."
The Humane Society advises keeping pets indoors, securing screens
and holding tight to dog leashes outdoors.
[If it was 17 years since *I'd* had sex, I'd be looking for small
animals to kill, too. Oh wait... Nevermind.]

I have never seen a cat try to eat a cicada. Follow them around,
yes. Reach out and swat them with a paw, yes. But not eat them,
possibly because they don't smell appealing. Dogs, however, being
generally less picky about what they eat, might be more prone to
eating cicadas.

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--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

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Hash: SHA1

On Sun, 2 May 2004 17:12:01 -0500, "Duke of URL"
wrote:

Hagerstown, Maryland -- When millions of cicadas emerge across the
eastern United States for a rare mating season, they will appear as
tasty morsels to pets who could get sick from eating the insects,
officials warned.
The insects are protein-rich but their hard outer shells can cause
vomiting and constipation in cats and dogs, said Randall Lockwood,
vice president for the Humane Society of the United States. "Imagine
a yard full of chicken nuggets, that's sort of what it's going to be
like for dogs and cats." Millions of the large, red-eyed insects
will soon emerge from the ground for a once-every-17-years mating
dance lasting well into June. The insects will climb into trees and
shed their shells to reveal their wings. Males will attract mates
through a loud buzzing sound.
The 1&1/2-inch-long bugs "combine all the stuff that particularly
dogs like to chase," Lockwood said. "They're kind of flying pet
toys: They are loud, slow-moving, often low-flying."
The Humane Society advises keeping pets indoors, securing screens
and holding tight to dog leashes outdoors.
[If it was 17 years since *I'd* had sex, I'd be looking for small
animals to kill, too. Oh wait... Nevermind.]

I have never seen a cat try to eat a cicada. Follow them around,
yes. Reach out and swat them with a paw, yes. But not eat them,
possibly because they don't smell appealing. Dogs, however, being
generally less picky about what they eat, might be more prone to
eating cicadas.

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--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

ROFL. I've always thought it would be nice to live near Hagerstown, MD.
because there is a notable dragstrip there where many finals are held by
NHRA, one of our entertainment sources. But since your report about the
hordes of flying grasshoppers w/hardshell armor, am holding that
thought.......



"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
...
: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
: Hash: SHA1
:
: On Sun, 2 May 2004 17:12:01 -0500, "Duke of URL"
: wrote:
:
: Hagerstown, Maryland -- When millions of cicadas emerge across the
: eastern United States for a rare mating season, they will appear as
: tasty morsels to pets who could get sick from eating the insects,
: officials warned.
: The insects are protein-rich but their hard outer shells can cause
: vomiting and constipation in cats and dogs, said Randall Lockwood,
: vice president for the Humane Society of the United States. "Imagine
: a yard full of chicken nuggets, that's sort of what it's going to be
: like for dogs and cats." Millions of the large, red-eyed insects
: will soon emerge from the ground for a once-every-17-years mating
: dance lasting well into June. The insects will climb into trees and
: shed their shells to reveal their wings. Males will attract mates
: through a loud buzzing sound.
: The 1&1/2-inch-long bugs "combine all the stuff that particularly
: dogs like to chase," Lockwood said. "They're kind of flying pet
: toys: They are loud, slow-moving, often low-flying."
: The Humane Society advises keeping pets indoors, securing screens
: and holding tight to dog leashes outdoors.
: [If it was 17 years since *I'd* had sex, I'd be looking for small
: animals to kill, too. Oh wait... Nevermind.]
:
: I have never seen a cat try to eat a cicada. Follow them around,
: yes. Reach out and swat them with a paw, yes. But not eat them,
: possibly because they don't smell appealing. Dogs, however, being
: generally less picky about what they eat, might be more prone to
: eating cicadas.
:
: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
: Version: PGPfreeware 7.0.3 for non-commercial use http://www.pgp.com
:
: iQA/AwUBQJWHcDMYPge5L34aEQK9kACgjCDazx3veidwf0g93M9fUf aGIJwAoNIs
: GiXf/RuJ+ePDV68AI1xckZ5T
: =TP+T
: -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
:
: --
: John F. Eldredge --
: PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
: "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
: than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria
:

ROFL. I've always thought it would be nice to live near Hagerstown, MD.
because there is a notable dragstrip there where many finals are held by
NHRA, one of our entertainment sources. But since your report about the
hordes of flying grasshoppers w/hardshell armor, am holding that
thought.......



"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
...
: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
: Hash: SHA1
:
: On Sun, 2 May 2004 17:12:01 -0500, "Duke of URL"
: wrote:
:
: Hagerstown, Maryland -- When millions of cicadas emerge across the
: eastern United States for a rare mating season, they will appear as
: tasty morsels to pets who could get sick from eating the insects,
: officials warned.
: The insects are protein-rich but their hard outer shells can cause
: vomiting and constipation in cats and dogs, said Randall Lockwood,
: vice president for the Humane Society of the United States. "Imagine
: a yard full of chicken nuggets, that's sort of what it's going to be
: like for dogs and cats." Millions of the large, red-eyed insects
: will soon emerge from the ground for a once-every-17-years mating
: dance lasting well into June. The insects will climb into trees and
: shed their shells to reveal their wings. Males will attract mates
: through a loud buzzing sound.
: The 1&1/2-inch-long bugs "combine all the stuff that particularly
: dogs like to chase," Lockwood said. "They're kind of flying pet
: toys: They are loud, slow-moving, often low-flying."
: The Humane Society advises keeping pets indoors, securing screens
: and holding tight to dog leashes outdoors.
: [If it was 17 years since *I'd* had sex, I'd be looking for small
: animals to kill, too. Oh wait... Nevermind.]
:
: I have never seen a cat try to eat a cicada. Follow them around,
: yes. Reach out and swat them with a paw, yes. But not eat them,
: possibly because they don't smell appealing. Dogs, however, being
: generally less picky about what they eat, might be more prone to
: eating cicadas.
:
: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
: Version: PGPfreeware 7.0.3 for non-commercial use http://www.pgp.com
:
: iQA/AwUBQJWHcDMYPge5L34aEQK9kACgjCDazx3veidwf0g93M9fUf aGIJwAoNIs
: GiXf/RuJ+ePDV68AI1xckZ5T
: =TP+T
: -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
:
: --
: John F. Eldredge --
: PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
: "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
: than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria
:

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On Mon, 03 May 2004 01:20:19 GMT, "Hopitus2"
wrote:

ROFL. I've always thought it would be nice to live near Hagerstown,
MD. because there is a notable dragstrip there where many finals are
held by NHRA, one of our entertainment sources. But since your
report about the hordes of flying grasshoppers w/hardshell armor, am
holding that
thought.......

Fortunately for farmers, we are about to have a plague of cicadas,
not true locusts. Cicadas are large, ugly, and noisy, but they don't
damage anything except tree bark. They are popularly called locusts,
but strictly speaking that refers to certain types of grasshoppers,
which can eat every plant in sight when they swarm. As far as I
know, we never have true locusts in the USA. There is a web page
describing cicadas at
http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fa.../Periodical/In
dex.html.
The nymphs (immature cicadas) live underground, sucking fluids from
roots. There are 4 species with 13-year life cycles, and three with
17-year life cycles. At the end of the cycle, the cicadas emerge
from the ground and molt into adults. The adults do minor damage to
tree bark, but aren't otherwise dangerous. The above web site states
that there are sometimes as many as 1.5 million cicadas per acre,
with tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands per acre more common.

Speaking from first-hand experience, the bugs are annoyingly loud,
and are attracted by loud noises. I once went to an outdoor,
night-time rock concert in a cicada-swarm year, and found that
cicadas like bright lights as well as loud noises. At times, they
drowned out the P/A system.

One swarm year came while I was in college. I was eating my lunch at
an outdoor table, and talking with a friend, a young woman from Iran.
A bird flew into a nearby tree, and cicadas exploded outwards in all
directions. The Iranian student literally dove out of her chair and
hit the ground. It turned out that someone had misinformed her that
cicadas drank blood. Given that each cicada is about the size of the
last joint of your thumb, this would be a scary idea indeed. I told
her the truth, much to her relief.

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--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Mon, 03 May 2004 01:20:19 GMT, "Hopitus2"
wrote:

ROFL. I've always thought it would be nice to live near Hagerstown,
MD. because there is a notable dragstrip there where many finals are
held by NHRA, one of our entertainment sources. But since your
report about the hordes of flying grasshoppers w/hardshell armor, am
holding that
thought.......

Fortunately for farmers, we are about to have a plague of cicadas,
not true locusts. Cicadas are large, ugly, and noisy, but they don't
damage anything except tree bark. They are popularly called locusts,
but strictly speaking that refers to certain types of grasshoppers,
which can eat every plant in sight when they swarm. As far as I
know, we never have true locusts in the USA. There is a web page
describing cicadas at
http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fa.../Periodical/In
dex.html.
The nymphs (immature cicadas) live underground, sucking fluids from
roots. There are 4 species with 13-year life cycles, and three with
17-year life cycles. At the end of the cycle, the cicadas emerge
from the ground and molt into adults. The adults do minor damage to
tree bark, but aren't otherwise dangerous. The above web site states
that there are sometimes as many as 1.5 million cicadas per acre,
with tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands per acre more common.

Speaking from first-hand experience, the bugs are annoyingly loud,
and are attracted by loud noises. I once went to an outdoor,
night-time rock concert in a cicada-swarm year, and found that
cicadas like bright lights as well as loud noises. At times, they
drowned out the P/A system.

One swarm year came while I was in college. I was eating my lunch at
an outdoor table, and talking with a friend, a young woman from Iran.
A bird flew into a nearby tree, and cicadas exploded outwards in all
directions. The Iranian student literally dove out of her chair and
hit the ground. It turned out that someone had misinformed her that
cicadas drank blood. Given that each cicada is about the size of the
last joint of your thumb, this would be a scary idea indeed. I told
her the truth, much to her relief.

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--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 2 May 2004 17:12:01 -0500, "Duke of URL"
wrote:

Hagerstown, Maryland -- When millions of cicadas emerge across the
eastern United States for a rare mating season, they will appear as
tasty morsels to pets who could get sick from eating the insects,
officials warned.

I have never seen a cat try to eat a cicada. Follow them around,
yes. Reach out and swat them with a paw, yes. But not eat them,
possibly because they don't smell appealing. Dogs, however, being
generally less picky about what they eat, might be more prone to
eating cicadas.


Heh. You never met Cricket, the red Abyssinian we had - if she could catch
it, she'd sample it.
--
The One-and-only Holy MosesT

"John F. Eldredge" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 2 May 2004 17:12:01 -0500, "Duke of URL"
wrote:

Hagerstown, Maryland -- When millions of cicadas emerge across the
eastern United States for a rare mating season, they will appear as
tasty morsels to pets who could get sick from eating the insects,
officials warned.

I have never seen a cat try to eat a cicada. Follow them around,
yes. Reach out and swat them with a paw, yes. But not eat them,
possibly because they don't smell appealing. Dogs, however, being
generally less picky about what they eat, might be more prone to
eating cicadas.


Heh. You never met Cricket, the red Abyssinian we had - if she could catch
it, she'd sample it.
--
The One-and-only Holy MosesT

On Sun, 02 May 2004 20:10:37 -0600, CATherine
yodeled:

(snip)

I remember as a child in northern Texas in the 1950's, we had cicadas,
usually the three-year variety. But one year we had the 17-year
variety. Our cats would cacth them and eat them. Us kids would catch
them, too. G

And . . . ?



Theresa
alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/

Single-mindedness is all very well in cows or baboons; in an animal
claiming to belong to the same species as Shakespeare it is simply disgraceful.
(Aldous Huxley)