North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Lucky.Pittman@murraystate.edu" <Lucky.Pittman@murraystate.edu>]

According to wikipedia, the annual cicadas deposit
their eggs in dead 
branches, whereas the periodic cicadas deposit their
eggs in live branches. 
 That might be the difference.

It's a HUGE difference.
Bob may see 'tons' of annual cicadas over there in AR
- and we have them here, too - but they're an
insignificant drop in the ocean compared to the
bazillions that will be active during these
emergences of major broods of periodic cicadas.  You
folks who are making light of the damage they can do
haven't seen what I've experienced.

When we had the last major brood emergence, it was
really eerie to step outside and hear the singing of
billions of these things - sounded like something
right out of a 1950s science fiction movie about
spaceships from Mars.
I had a little single-string Echo grass trimmer whose
whirling twine emitted a sound which must have been
identical to that of the female cicadas, 'cause any
time I cranked it up, I was immediately swarmed by
amorous males.   YIKES!!