Cicada

Tuesday
This is the year for the periodical cicada in Ohio - they appear every 17 years. There are different broods which appear in different years - generally three in the northern states - this year's is Brood XIV. They mature in the ground and in the right year, when the earth is warm enough, usually the end of May, they drill circular holes to the surface, and overnight the nymphs emerge and climb nearby trees or vegetation, where they shed their skins and molt into adult cicadas. The males and females mate, the females lay eggs, and they die, all in about four weeks! About a month later, the eggs will hatch and the tiny nymphs fall to the ground and go into cracks and they will stay in the earth another 17 years. Strange existence!
We first noticed them in our yard just before the weekend. Then on Sunday morning, after Roger had beautifully cleaned the patio on Saturday ready for our cookout Sunday evening, we woke to find the patio littered with cicadas or their skins! In general they dont bother you too much, they will occasionally drop on you or fly into you, but the main thing is the racket they make - apparently its the males that "sing" to attract the females.