I'm not big into insects (okay, there's an understatement), and up until now, I've chosen mostly to ignore the teasers about the unique, every 17-year emergence across much of the U.S. East Coast of hundreds of millions of Brood II cicadas. But today, when the New York Times delivered up a lovely article on the topic entitled "Here Comes the Buzz," well, I really couldn't ignore it any longer. Fortunately, however - or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, we are unlikely to experience the big migration here in Western Massachusetts. (To my son in Pennsylvania, however, look out!) According to UMass Amherst entomologist Robert Childs (as reported by NPR), while Massachusetts and Connecticut used to on the edge of the periodical cicada's territory, development has disrupted their native habitats, leaving only one brood left in the region, on lower Cape Cod.
I know I should feel sorry - even despondent - about the habitat destruction that has driven the cicadas out of our area over time, but I'm actually quite relieved to learn that I'll be reading about it from a distance. I'm not proud of my reaction, but there you have it.
What about you? Are you sad or happy to miss "the buzz"?
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