17-year cicada wrapup

Cue: "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye

Observations on the 17-year emergence of the Brood 2 cicadas earlier this summer:

• The holes:  In the weeks prior to their surfacing, 1 cm holes start appearing everywhere.  The impression I'm left with is one of a drunk groundskeeper who decided to pass out while running the core aerator around the bases of trees.
• The emergence:  The first few days are characterized by "Cool!" reactions as the small (3-4 cm) red-eyed bugs start climbing trees, having shed their amber skins
• The SWARM: And then one day you wake up, open the front door, and you're staring at 30-50 red-eyed invaders, all patiently waiting for their wings to dry and harden so they can fly away.  Sound creepy?  It is.
• The noise:  I really wish I could describe the dawn-to-dusk humming of the cicadas as the brood builds up to peak numbers.  It starts out as a "gee, what is that", followed by a realization of the source, followed by some quick internet searching that reveals the noise will persist for 2-3 more weeks.
• The humor:  Brood 2 cicadas will never be lauded for their flight precision.  I never lost interest in seeing the initial flight trajectory as they take off from some grand height, headed towards a remote branch, and imagining a tiny voice saying "oh crap oh crap Oh Crap Oh Crap OH CRAP OH" as it crash-landed in the grass.
• The horror: Little known fact - cicadas suffer from a fungal attacker that literally eats them from the inside out.  If you saw cicadas covered with a white dusting, chances are they were busy infecting their brood-mates prior to dropping their crunchy remains on your driveway.
• The aftermath: And months later, we're still finding larval and adult shells everywhere.  They're on the house, in trees, in the grass, in the engine-hood gaps of your car, in your potted plants.  Did I mention that we're still finding them EVERYWHERE?

TLDR: 17 year cicadas?  Could we possibly try for 20, maybe 25-years next time?