Cicada Call

Have you been hearing a strange vibrating sound lately? Perhaps you've run across some bugs that seem a little alien? Our neighborhood cat has been incredibly intrigued by the recent visitors, although actually catching one would be way too much work for him. Periodical cicadas are out in Mississippi again and they are a wonder to see. (And to hear!)

According to the Mississippi State University Extension Service, "there are only three broods of 13-year cicadas in the world and Mississippi is the only state where all three broods occur." They are notable for their black bodies, orange tinted wings, and red beady eyes. These guys have spent the thirteen years of their lives underground, feasting on tree roots, and only appear above ground to molt, mate, and die. The loud humming noise we all hear is the males calling to the females. MSU says that in an ideal environment, there could be over one million cicadas in one acre. No wonder they're so loud!

If you're a B-horror movie fan, we recommend watching The Beast Within while the cicada songs are in full swing. The movie was actually filmed in Bolton, Jackson, and Raymond, Mississippi, and it features a rampaging cicada-man-beast. It was based on the book The Beast Within by Edward Levy. Unfortunately, there are no rampaging cicada-man-beasts in the book.

Check out the MSU Extension Service for more detailed information on cicadas. We hope you enjoy this cicada season. If the noise gets to be too much, maybe we can all invest in some earplugs.

Lice Aren't Nice

We have the most interesting books here at MLC. No, really! Today I found something called Insects, Hygiene, and History by J.R. Busvine. Seriously, check out the cover art:

A Tit-bit for the Bugs
from the book Rowlandson the Caricaturist by Joseph Grego (1880)

The author delves into the lives of all sorts of gross bugs and icky insects. Lice, ticks, mites, bed bugs -- you name it. After briefly discussing entymology, he delves into people's views of vermin over the years. He has a rare touch of grotesque humor; perhaps such a thing is needed when studying the creepy-crawlies of the world. This quote from The Noble Lyfe and Nature of Man is included and it tickles me no end:

A louse is a worm with many fete and it cometh out of the filthi and onclene skynne... To Withdryue them, the best is to washe oftentymes and to change oftentymes clene lynen.

A plus to no longer living in the Middle Ages? Now we know that lice don't just pop out of our skin if we skip a bath. This wonderful line about fleas caught my eye:

On hearing the first cuckoo in spring, one should take earth from the ground where one's right foot is standing; this will have the property of driving all fleas from a house.

(If that doesn't work on your flea infestation, talk to Pliny.)

 As did this fascinating entry on lice:

The nature of the louse is that, on red hair they are red, on black hair, black, on white, white; and if one changes the hair, they will change colour.

 Chameleon lice!

I'll leave you with this charming depiction of a wife cleaning the lice from her husband's head...

from the Hortus Sanitatis (1491)

...apparently with a feather duster.

Busvine, J.R. Insects, Hygiene, and History The Athlone Press of the University of London, 1976.