Thursday, May 27, 2021

Brood in the 'hood

Welp, time for an update on Brood X. According to colleagues in Haymarket (Virginia) and Annapolis (Maryland), the swarm has not yet struck. But, whee-doggies, they’re certainly active here in the environs of the District They Call Columbia.

Today I have clips of them singing the song of their people. Here they are at a distance:

And here they are up close:


(Those are their exit holes from their 17-year hibernation. I give them major props for being able to burrow in and then climb out of the soil here in the People’s Republic, because it’s basically nothing but clay. These guys are tough little buggers.)

Yesterday on my walk, Brood X drowned out the sound of landscapers on their industrial-strength riding mowers.

This is a scene of mass shedding; you can tell it’s from a week ago, because you can hear the birds; the cicadas have not yet begun to clear their throats:

Again, from last week: newly emerged nymphs:



Here are some guys who've been roughed up some:





This one’s having a hard time:

(I turned him over. Whenever I find one that’s turtled, I turn it over; evidently they can’t right themselves on their own.)

Not sure about this one, with these wings:

And this is my avatar for O365 at work. It's quite the conversation starter on conference calls:



 

 

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