Folklore says that when the locusts or cicadas start singing in the evening, autumn or fall is only six weeks away. Meteorologically speaking, Sept. 1 begins the fall season. Astronomically, the first day of autumn is Sept. 22.

A couple of weekends ago, around July 16, I heard the singing of the cicadas. Based on folklore, that means fall will be here Aug. 27. No, it cannot be so. Like the groundhog predicting spring, we will see if this insect also has autumn weather predicting abilities.

Is the common name locust the same as cicadas? The University of Florida gives this explanation: Cicadas and locusts are different species with very distinct characteristics.

The fame of locusts is of Biblical proportions because of their tendency to swarm in large numbers. Cicadas have been known to show a similar behavior, but they are not nearly as destructive.

Locusts belong to the family of Acrididae (grasshoppers) and Tettigoniidae (katydids) whereas cicadas belong to the family Cicadidae.

Locusts are found on every continent except North America and Antarctica. The United States did have a serious locust species around the late 1800s called the Rocky Mountain locust, and it caused numerous problems for settlers in the region. Then it quietly became extinct around 1900.

In other parts of the world, when food supplies are high, the locusts will produce large numbers of offspring.

The large number of offspring swarm and migrate, seeking vegetation. There may be millions at one time eating every green thing in sight.

In areas of the world where locusts are found, they may cover as much as 500 square kilometers. The largest recorded swarm has covered more than 1,000 square kilometers. The United States uses the Imperial standard of measurement versus the metric system. To put the locust swarm into perspective, divide the kilometers by 1.60934; 1,000 square kilometers is the same as a little over 621 square miles.

Wood County is exactly 620 square miles. Can you imagine a swarm of locusts devouring every green plant in sight? It is a good thing that cicadas are not locusts.

Cicadas have large, membranous forewings which easily extend beyond their abdomen. These wings are important for flying. Cicadas have distinctive, large eyes located far apart in their head.

The noise we hear in our trees is caused by the male cicada. The sound of cicadas is distinctive, and species can be differentiated by their calls. Only males can make sounds, most of which are calling songs to attract female mates. Wood County is home to 12 annual cicadas.

The annual cicadae’s nymphs develop underground sustained by juices sucked from tree roots and it takes multiple years for them to complete their development from eggs to new adults. Cicadas undergo three stages of change in their life cycle, called incomplete metamorphosis.

The Arizona State University biology department gives us this simple explanation of incomplete metamorphosis: The first stage of incomplete metamorphosis is the egg.

During this time, the insect will hatch into a form called a nymph. The nymph is basically a small version of the adult insect. Nymphs usually have a thin exoskeleton and no wings. They eat the same food as their parents and live in the same place. As insect nymphs grow larger, their exoskeleton becomes too tight and they must replace it. Humans have their skeletons inside their bodies, while insects have their skeletons outside their bodies, known as an exoskeleton.

Once a nymph outgrows its exoskeleton it will go through a process called molting, in which it leaves the old “skin” or exoskeleton behind. The new “skin” will harden and become the new exoskeleton. This will happen many times until the insect finally becomes the size of an adult.

The annual cicada, during the last molt, will leave behind the old exoskeleton stuck to the stems of trees and other vegetation emerging in the summer. The nymphs take two or three years to complete their development. However, we see and hear adults every year because of overlapping generations within a species and because there is more than one species in Ohio.

Our most common annual cicada in Ohio is the Dog-Day Cicada (Neotibicen canicularis) so named because the adults appear sporadically throughout the “dog days” of summer, usually beginning in July. The specific epithet or second part of Latin name is canicularis, and is derived from the Latin word, canicula, which references the Dog Star, Sirius. The largest cicada found in Ohio and North America is the Northern Dusk Singing Cicada (Megatibicen auletes).

There is a website devoted to Cicadas. View pictures and hear sounds of the different species at https://www.cicadamania.com/.

Cicadas do not bite or sting and do not carry harmful diseases. They are a food source for wildlife and can even be a food source for people – but I will let you try them first.