Sometimes mistakenly called "locusts", American cicadas come in a wide variety of colors, and make different and distinctive sounds. Some highlights: Diceroprocta viridifascia, Neocicada hieroglyphica, Tibicen marginalis, Tibicen pruinosa, Magicicada septendecim.
posted by interrobang on Jun 20, 2006 - 19 comments

Singing Insects of North America Most of us have heard these little fellas performing their serenades of a summer evening. Some of their songs have a sort of lilting syncopation, others sound more like heavy metal of the industrial revolution variety. (.wav files) Check out the greatest hits list. Some are pretty. Some are ugly. Some are pretty ugly Some are bona fide coneheads. Anyway, there are lots of them to check out! (Related Mefi links here and here.)
posted by trip and a half on Aug 21, 2005 - 9 comments

The Brood is Back. No, not that Brood. This brood.
posted by grabbingsand on May 7, 2004 - 14 comments

Cicadas best served sauteed in butter and parsley apparently, or if you want to go more upscale: "The soft-shelled cicada, it's done just like a soft-shelled crab," says executive chef Frank Belosic, describing how freshly molted cicadas should be rolled in flour, pan-fried in olive oil, and finished with a sauce of white wine, butter and shallots.
posted by meehawl on Apr 16, 2004 - 23 comments