Many people are familiar with cicadas, most notably the 17-year variety that reaches adulthood every 17 years.

Fewer people, however, are familiar with the 170-year cicada. This fellow spends nearly two hundred years underground, growing and growing each year. By the time they reach adulthood, they can reach heights comparable to a five story building.

Unlike their smaller cousins, the 170-year cicada will feast on animals as well as plants. Being so large, it is difficult for them to get their sustenance from trees, as they can not easily suck the liquids from a tree. Animals make quicker and easier meals.

Suicide is generally recommended if you should be cornered by one of these creatures. Being impaled by their proboscis and having your body drained of its fluids is a generally painful way to go. Best just to jump off a cliff or a tree or whatever height you can reach and let the creature slurp your remains from the ground after you’re already dead.

These are endangered species, so shooting at them to save yourself is against the law.

The last brood of the creatures was back in 1839. Worldwide, some 96,000 people were reportedly killed by these giant cicadas.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 16th, 2009 at 6:05 pm and is filed under Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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