The cicada is always good fodder for this blog, as is anything that metamorphoses from a nasty little monster into a winged monster.Robert took these photos of an emergent cicada while in Louisiana, US. I didn't know that these bugs can live for years as larvae underground, only to emerge as glorious flying insects and then die four weeks later.
Can you imagine living most of your life as a hideous troll of a teenager, and then only having a few years left as an actual adult? Oh, wait. I know quite a few people like that. I'll go ask them.
Thanks for the photos, Robert.
Cicadas are quite beautiful, if you don't look at their huge heads. The wings are delicate and shimmery, but I remember my cats catching them and eating them -- their insides are quite like raw hamburger! How's that for ick?
ReplyDeleteCarol Rose, that's pretty darned icky.
ReplyDeleteI still can't get over the gorgeous colors of these guys- freshly emerged as they are.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be painted from the same palette as the luna moth.