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Our Summer Cicadas are back and it is LOUD in the park! Have you ever wondered what all that noise is about?
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How do they do it?
MALE Cicadas have a special membrane on their abdomens called Tymbals. They use internal muscles to flex the tymbals, making them click. Their bodies are hollow which amplifies their "songs".
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So basically, we're listening to a boy band with built-in amps playing their tymbals off for the ladies!
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They've molted from Boyz2Men and they emerge N'Sync:
They molt 4x in their Nymph (larvae) stage and the 5th and final molt can be found perfectly intact. This the final exoskeleton shed where they become flying adults! While our Florida Cicadas emerge every year, other Periodical species have synchronized their development so they emerge into adults in the same year (13 or 17 year cicadas).
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They are NO Beatles and they love the 98 Degrees of Florida days. Our local species are called "Dog-Day Cicadas" because they emerge with the heat of the summer.
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They spend most of their lives in the ground living as nymphs and their short adult lives have only One Direction:
💛 REPRODUCTION 💛
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They are sending those love vibrations All4One and at the ladies! The sound of cicadas is distinctive, and species can be differentiated by their songs. They are also one the loudest of all insect producing sounds.
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They have many predators including birds, squirrels, bats, mantises, and spiders. But none can compete with cicada killer wasps!
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Unlike the social wasps and bees we are all afraid of, these solitary wasps spend their time hunting and burrowing in the dirt. They are not aggressive and are really only a threat to cicadas which they hit and bury to feed their young!
Learn More
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Even though a group of cicadas is called a plague, they are not locusts and don't damage crops or trees. They are not harmful to humans. They do not bite or sting.
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Store Hours
Kayak office 9am-5pm everyday
(closed Wed. in Dec,Jan,Feb)
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Kayak Amelia has guided ecotours (kayak, paddle board) and rentals (kayak, bike, paddle board ) in Talbot Island State Park. |
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