Sounds of Summer – Yummy!

In all the years I’ve lived in and around the Rockies, I don’t remember it being this noisy in the summertime.   I’ve never been to the South or spent much time back east, so my Cicada experiences have been limited to National Geographic  Specials on TV.  But this summer, you could hear that distinct Cicada sound everywhere — all around Grand Teton National Park, along the Snake River, hiking around Jackson, in my own backyard.

So I finally had to look ’em up.  The cicadas we have here are a mountain cicada, Okanagana bella, which has a two to seven-year life cycle.   They lay their eggs in the branches of trees, and after hatching the insects fall to the ground where they burrow deep into the earth for years, before re-emerging to mate.

But my favorite new Cicada fact – some people EAT them.  REALLY!  In Southeast Asia and Latin America, and even here in the United States in fact. The females are prized for being meatier, or so they say (on Wikipedia).  I wouldn’t know (someone dared me to lick a slug when I was at camp in middle school, but they didn’t serve us cicadas at the campfire. Darn it!).   In North China they are skewered, deep fried, or stir fried as a delicacy. Hmmm.  What an idea.

As we approach the end of summer, the Cicada song has finally subsided. So if you really want to test this tasty theory, you better do it soon–or wait another 7 years…

~Laura, Barker-Ewing Office

__________________

Wildly Scenic is a blog by Barker-Ewing employees and fellow river enthusiasts.

Established in 1963, Barker-Ewing Float Trips has been sharing the beauty and wonder of Grand Teton National Park with visitors from around the world for over 40 years, floating beneath the Tetons on the headwaters of the Snake River.

www.barkerewing.com