Pic by Bruce Martin
for about 17 years these huge flies feed on tree roots underground and yesterday they were due to surface in the midwest. my roommate torre said they fly in swarms and it looks like the plague -- it figures i'm around for it. i have yet to witness these creepy crawlers, but at practice last night a teammate saw one come out of the ground.
the females cut slits into tree branches and plant their eggs, and after they hatch they fall into the ground and stay there for about 13-17 years. they don't sting or bite, instead they just land on you and bug you. technically, they are not pests. their existence provides for a ginormous feast for birds and other animals (and some humans) - a splurge that only comes around every 17 years or so.
2 comments:
I heard about these on Fox News. Some people in Chi town were eating them!?!? Yuck!!
i don't know about chicagoans -- but people around the world do.
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