Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

I haven’t heard any cicadas, has anybody?

Chelsea wrote:I haven’t heard any cicadas, has anybody?

Also none here yet, on the Lefkoşa side of the mountains. In Turkish, by the way, they are called "ağustos böcekleri" (yes, "august insects") and so maybe they'll live up to their name in a few days' time

Plenty near us just outside Esentepe.

We have them here, Lapta way, probably not as many as previous years but enough to make plenty of noise from dawn until dusk!

We have had them in Ozankoy since 1 June (I thought they were called June bugs!) but nowhere near as many as previous years. Was it 2 years ago when we had huge numbers & they were flying & squirting into your face - yuk!

We have them here up in Karmi but not in abundance as in some previous years. They'll probably fade away next month.

Very few about this year, those that are a bit weak from hatching seem to be gobbled up by the sparrows very quickly! Not so many holes in the garden either, maybe the result of a bad laying years ago considering that they can spend up to 17 years underground!

Cicadas emerge following either a 13 or 17 year period underground.. There are plenty here in Esentepe.... come and them if you miss the screaming up to sunset when the crickets take over.

Not heard a single one over here at Salamis which is not so far from Esentepe as the crow flies but there is a dearth of trees in this area so we have never experienced them in numbers, unlike the Frogs who do make a racket for some three months from early January.

Isn't nature weird and wonderful? Imagine 13/17 years for an egg to hatch that is mind boggling to consider the inbuilt protection to endure winter rains and summer heat for those periods of time.

tt.

tingtang wrote:Isn't nature weird and wonderful? Imagine 13/17 years for an egg to hatch that is mind boggling to consider the inbuilt protection to endure winter rains and summer heat for those periods of time.

tt.

They hatch, bury themselves and are active as grubs of a particularly nightmarish form for the entire period underground - living and eating roots which can be quite destructive for garden plants... emerging to metamorphosise into adult cicadas..

They certainly are weird nature/science at work... Their adulthood often coincides here with the arrival of migratory predators like Eleonora's Falcons... their asymmetric lifespan helps them survive species extinction by not matching any other possible predator's lifespan consistently.

“Eleonora’s Falcon”
What a beautiful name! And a beautiful creature, having just googled it!
Thank you Groucho!

Mowgli597 wrote:“Eleonora’s Falcon”
What a beautiful name! And a beautiful creature, having just googled it!
Thank you Groucho!

May I suggest that anyone interested in the beautiful birdlife to be seen in Cyprus joins the Kuşkor Facebook group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/141430182593465/

Where local photographers share their wonderful images for everyone to enjoy... truly amazing photos and most are far better than you could ever imagine....

And for those who wouldn’t go near Faceache with the proverbial barge pole there’s the Kuşkor website

Mowgli597 wrote:And for those who wouldn’t go near Faceache with the proverbial barge pole there’s the Kuşkor website

Unfortunately the photos don't really feature on our website as much... or in our Yahoo group... I know some people are intimidated by Facebook but as long as you don't supply personal details (and you don't have to) then it can be a useful resource... The problems only happen if people are tempted to over-share...

Interesting stuff - thanks for the links.

I must be the only guy to get banned by Facebook even though I never put a post on there! My crime? I used the wrong log-in password 3 times. if anyone can discover a way to contact them I will nominate them for Brain of Britain.

tt.

tt.

tingtang wrote:Interesting stuff - thanks for the links.

I must be the only guy to get banned by Facebook even though I never put a post on there! My crime? I used the wrong log-in password 3 times. if anyone can discover a way to contact them I will nominate them for Brain of Britain.

tt.

tt.

The easy solution is to create another profile - just use the initial of your first or middle name instead of the full name, or add 'Cyprus' after the name.

Lots of young people have more than one facebook profile, they tell their parents about one, and use the other to share their real activity with their pals

If you need a different email address, just make a new gmail or yahoo one - you can have as many of those as you like...

Oh! - and this time - WRITE THE BLOODY LOGIN DETAILS DOWN!

Groucho wrote:

Mowgli597 wrote:And for those who wouldn’t go near Faceache with the proverbial barge pole there’s the Kuşkor website

Unfortunately the photos don't really feature on our website as much... or in our Yahoo group... I know some people are intimidated by Facebook but as long as you don't supply personal details (and you don't have to) then it can be a useful resource... The problems only happen if people are tempted to over-share...

It’s not a case of being intimidated Groucho. It’s a case of not wanting any more of my data harvested and sold on without my knowledge or consent. I give enough of it away unwittingly and unwillingly as it is but in order to function and interact nowadays sadly that’s what we have to do.
Would it not be possible to add the photos to a gallery section of the website for the Luddites like me?
But we’re digressing and so should take both of these topics elsewhere. Poor cicadas!

To get back on topic and to answer the question I think most of them are in our back garden in Catalkoy! Noisy buggers.

Since this post began the number of gicadas in our area has declined considerably!

They're probably shy!

jayceebee wrote:Since this post began the number of gicadas in our area has declined considerably!

Don’t blame me! Some big boys did it and ran away

I should add to the life cycle story, the adults only live for a month... so one month on - they will be conspicuous by their absence... plus after 17 years underground and only one month to procreate it is little wonder that they are such noisy beggars