Dogday Cicadas…
annual,
periodical-
13 years, 17 years-
underground
sucking on a tree taproot
emerging for just a few weeks,
sometimes just a few days,
to sing and mate and die…
their song swells and hums,
at times overpowering all of nature.
To my ears,
in their unending midsummer chorus,
they sound like life.
Cicada Killers…
wasp-like, predator
hunting cicadas upon Emergence,
poison sting paralyzes.
dragging to underground lair
through the dirt to the birthing chamber
laying their eggs inside the paralyzed live body
of the dogday cicada.
eggs hatch
on live immobile cicada, larvae feed.
to my eyes
seeing them,
images of
death and destruction.
To you, who is the Cicada? Who or what is the Cicada Killer? I’m fascinated to hear from you below in the comments section!
(My thanks to the University of Illinois Extension for their extensive entomology research in the Midwest! For more information about the cicada life cycle, click here.)