Cicada: Sounds Like an Alien,Tastes Like Asparagus

The creature's ghost was clinging to a gardenia leaf, and I paused to take photos of the spooky critter.

I was looking at the husk of a cicada nymph. It is summertime, and I was not surprised to see it. 

Every summer in Alabama, the mating calls of cicadas are ubiquitous as evening falls. This strange racket has been likened to the alien sound of a UFO. The male cicada produces his love song by flexing a pair of drum-like membranes in his abdomen, called tymbals. Small muscles pull the tymbals in and out to create the clicking sound. The female cicada does not find the music alien at all, but rather is quite attracted to it. 

After mating, the female cicada lays her tiny eggs in a groove she makes in a tree limb. The eggs hatch after about 6 to 8 weeks. A newly hatched cicada looks a lot like a white ant or termite. The immature cicada, called a nymph, feeds on fluids from the tree until it falls to the ground, and then it searches for roots to feed upon. Depending on the species, the nymph will spend up to 17 years tunneling and feeding underground. While cicadas sometimes injure small trees, they are relatively harmless and do not cause significant environmental damage.

There are about 1300 species of cicadas identified world-wide. Most North American cicadas belong to either the Neotibicen or the Magicicada genus. The Neotibicens are also called annual or dog day cicadas. They emerge from the ground every year during the "dog days" of summer, in late July or August. The most famous cicadas are the Magicicadas. They emerge every 13 or 17 years, swarming out of the ground suddenly and in huge numbers. I still remember when they emerged in Alabama in 2011. Because of their numbers they sometimes are called locusts, but they actually are related to aphids, not locusts or grasshoppers. 

After they emerge from the ground, the nymphs climb the nearest tree and then shed their exoskeleton. Soon their wings inflate with fluid and their adult skin hardens.

Their brief adult life, only weeks, is spent looking for a mate. Males usually sing at night when their predators are less active, and there are plenty of predators. Mammals, birds, and amphibians all eat cicadas, sometimes to the point of gorging themselves. Even many humans consider them a tasty treat. They are high in protein, low in carbohydrate, and gluten free. One can find lots of cicada recipes on the internet. I have never eaten one, but I have heard they taste like asparagus.

You may also enjoy my previous post: Dog Days of Summer 

Got Humid Heat? Want Pollinators? Try Firebush!

Some like it hot. While many flowers shrink from the Deep South's summertime heat and humidity, there are many tropical plants that may not survive the winter but will thrive through the hottest summer to provide shots of color in the garden. This year I discovered Firebush, Hamelia patens. In this public domain photo a Zebra longwing butterfly is sipping nectar from a Firebush.It is also called Firecracker Shrub, Scarlet Bush, and Hummingbird Bush. This striking plant will bloom for months, from late spring until frost, and its tubular flowers attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. It provides both larval food and nectar for butterflies. Its also produces berries in the fall that are a treat for songbirds.

This woody perennial shrub is hardy in USDA zones 8b-11. It will grow as an annual in more northern regions of the South, with leaves that turn scarlet red as the temperatures cool. There are actually two forms of Firebush. Hamelia patens is native to Florida, as well as Mexico, the West Indies, and Central and South America. It has red blooms and will grow up to 15 feet tall in southern Florida, though it may be kept to 5 to 8 feet through pruning. A dwarf form, Hamelia patens var. glabra grows only to 4 to 8 feet. It may be planted in a 3 gallon or larger pot. Its blooms are lighter, orange with gold tips, rather than red. This dwarf form is native only to those areas south of the US, though introduced specimens may sometimes reseed themselves in southern Florida. It is just as attractive to wildlife as the taller native.Dwarf Firebush

Loving both heat and humidity, Firebush is a tough, easy-care plant. It will grow in full sun to light shade, in any well-drained soil. It is quite drought tolerant, though it should be watered regularly until it is established. 

My own plant is the dwarf, and I have it in a pot. I plan to move it indoors for winter, since the plant is unlikely to survive our lowest winter temps. Potted plants brought indoors should be protected from both freezing drafts and low humidity. I am really loving this plant. Every day I see bees, butterflies and hummingbirds visiting its blooms.Here is my dwarf firebush in the landscape. It is in a pot adjacent to my patio.