Bug City

If there isn't snow on the ground, then it's time to see the various bugs of the city. The Times has an article about the return of the cicada, which takes a 17 year old nap in larva and then crawls out from the ground to find a mate to have sex with, and the excitement it causes in people. Cicadas are harmless, although it seems that you might see mist of "cicada urine" or your cat or dog might get a tummy ache if they eat too many. New Yorkers aren't as excited about cicadas as D.C. residents are (here are some Washington Post articles about cicadas, including one where a chef says cicadas are like soft-shell crab) but what we are thinking about are Asian Longhorned Beetles (pictured). The city has set up a comprehensive website (check out the moving bugs!)about how you can prevent further infestations (which have been found in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan's East Side so far). And why is the Asian Longhorned Beetle Asian? It comes from China, via "untreated packing crates and wooden palettes."

Giancarlo Esposito played Buggin Out in Spike Lee's summer fever dream of a movie, Do the Right Thing.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on May 19, 2004 4:42 PM

Comments [rss]

Brett

Let me tell you these cicadas are everywhere! It's impossible not to step on the hundreds of these bugs while walking to my office. Check out this webcam from the Washington Post of some poor dude's infested yard.

Jen

SORRY! They are totally harmless - I think I was too grossed out by the thought of cicada urine - what is that?

eebmore

...besides, DC should keep their mouths shut about soft crabs. They don't even know what to call them, forget about knowing how to cook them.

eebmore

Yes, the cicada blog chatter down here is louder and more annoying than the bugs themselves. Cicadas are FUN! Not a big deal.

joe s

I just ran across a cicada photo album from someone in Bowie, Maryland. Lots of neat photos:

http://threewebe.typepad.com/photos/brood_x_cicadas/

kowgurl

i kinda like cicadas, and yeah they don't hurt anything or sting or bite, although if you're ever out at night and se them climbing out of their little holes in the ground, all wet and larvae-y...ick! Those beetles on the other hand, man they really give me the heebie-jeebs, and I'm not an anti-bug kinda girl at all. but those tentacles! that iron-like shell! Eek!

Doug

Correction, Jen. Cicadas ARE harmless. They don't bite or sting and only leave behind crunchy exo-skeletons after their mating frenzy. They are loud, too, but that's just an annoyance and not something harmful.

Apparently, people who booked outdoor weddings this month and next are in for it:

http://www.planetgordon.com/archives/000149.html

Tom

I'm down from Jersey in DC for the week, and I actually got a memo IN MY ROOM from the hotel staff at the Omni Shoreham hotel near Woodley Park, all about cicadas. They've even got the URL for cicadamania.com on there. Pretty hysterical.

No one wants to give me details on the military choppers flying barely over my hotel, but hey, cicadas are out in full force!

larry dvm

Is anything wrong with feeling the summer groove so sure and strong on May 19? Nothing at all.

"Two miles an hour so everybody sees you

Theres an air of love and of happiness

And this is the fresh prince's new definition of summer madness"

oliver

I was just in DC/Northern VA this past weekend, and they're just mad about cicadas down there. I passed a gas station that had signage out front imploring folks to come in and get their cars serviced and prepared for the bug invasion, stating "Cicadas Eat Cars!"

andy

I just read the article in the washington post on eating cicadas. All I can say is NASTY.

Linus

I know the palmetto bugs came scrabbling out in Brooklyn Heights last night; they were having a town meeting across the street from the icky Court Street McDonald's. I had visions of Men in Black. 'Tis the season.

corie

The cicadas are hitting places like Ohio really hard. I'm about to go to a wedding at the park (Ault Park) that's been in the news so much because of the bugs...I'm sure there will be [crunchy] fun to be had...