The last time they came for an uninvited visit my daughters were much younger — Alex was 13, Chloe, 11 and Phoebe was 7 years old. Phoebe doesn’t even remember them visiting, but I do. I was in my 40s — good times.
Yes, 17 years ago this month a trillion red-eyed insects began crawling their way above ground in 14 states, including ours. Last week, I noticed about a couple dozen dime-sized ground holes when I was mulching. Some of the holes had cicada-made mud-chimney’s to keep their tunnels safe from the rain.
These ugly little insects will be crawling out of their in-ground homes when the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees consistently, usually after a good rain — so near the middle or end of May in our area.
I do remember in 2004, the Brood X cicada invasion was not that bad in our White River Township backyard. But when we visited Grandma Carmen and Grandpa Jack Mangas near Geist, the sound of the male cicadas was deafening.
Their home backed up to a wooded area and there was so many “done mating” cicadas, their driveway was full of dead carcasses and the birds couldn’t even eat them all. I can still recall the strong and distinct stench of cicada carcasses. Steve remembers having to clean the car windshield with a scrub brush. Alex recalls sitting in her grandparent’s screened-in porch, but only briefly that day, because the sound level was disturbingly loud — the high-pitch mating call of a male cicada can emit sounds between 80 and 100 decibels, which is on par with the level of a lawn mower or low flying airplane.
On the other hand, it was a dream spring for Chloe and Phoebe and every other Johnson County 4Her who was doing entomology projects in 2004.
As irony would have it, Alex, who chose to NEVER even look at her sister’s entomology projects, texted the family last Monday and announced, “So our visits to the Purdue Bug Bowl have come back to haunt me — I am planning a one-day cicada festival for Washington Park (in Cincinnati)! Got any creative festival names? …Also my LOL worst fear!”
I quickly texted my ideas:
- Mega Cicada Par-taya!
- Wine at the Cicada Bodega
- Trade-a-Cicada
- How loud can you chirp — Cicada Translata Day (How many decibels can you reach?)
I was definitely on a creative roll until our songster Phoebe, knowing her sister plans many park events with live music and dancing, interrupted my flow with:
“Brood X’s song: a sick-cadence,” she texted.
I had to admit that one was good, but I pressed on. “Cicada-Moneta — Come make Cicada art,” I said.
Phoebe added Brood X-Games or Cicada Data, an event where you do interactive charts and tracking of the 17-year Brood X cicada. Measure the sound in decibels, track the cicadas, etc.
I tried to one-up Phoebe to no avail. One idea was Cicada-Invada Dance Off: play only music to the Brood X cicada cadence rhythm. I tried.
I did give Alex some good common Mom advice. “You might want to wear sunglasses, a hat and gloves that day, I know how you hate insects,” I said.
Alex replied: “I’m wearing Dad’s honeybee suit!”
Later that evening, Steve added his ideas:
- Play music and trivia from 2004 which was the last cicada outbreak.
- Artwork made from cicada wings.
- Serve special drinks call the cicada.
- Have kids do a cicada coloring contest.
- Have adults do a cicada call contest.
- Prizes for the most cicadas collected.
- Little red sunglasses with red eyes for little kids to look like cicadas.
- Guess how many cicadas in a container for a prize.
- A Cicada 5K run, where a few people in cicada-costumes chase people during the run. Prizes for people who dress like a cicada.
I knew I was out of my league.
Then Chloe mocked me. “You can do what Mom did with June bugs and tie a string on a cicada leg and sell them as tiny balloons,” she said.
If you’re in Washington Park in Cincinnati on May 22, my kid will be the event planner wearing the glaring-white protective bee suit and hood.
The next time Brood X shows up in the year 2038, Alex will be 47, Chloe, 45 and Phoebe will be 41. I will be in my 70s — more good times.
(Note: If you want to be a citizen scientist you can get information to help map the emergence of the 2021 periodical cicada Brood X by downloading a free Cicada Safari app. In addition, there is some fantastically fun info at CicadaMania.com and CicadaSafari.org. I personally printed out and am playing the cicada mania bingo — join me.)
Janet Hommel Mangas grew up on the east side of Greenwood. The Center Grove area resident and her husband are the parents of three daughters. Send comments to [email protected].
