Do you know what a cicada is? If not, you can read about them here, and this is what they look like…
All you need to know is that despite being harmless, cicadas are beyond annoying. I’m not sure how it works around the rest of the world, but here in Nashville, they come out of the ground every 13 years, and they are EVERYWHERE. They got in Summer’s stroller during our walks, my dogs liked to eat them, and I can’t tell you how many I found clinging to me over the past several weeks, and I even had a cicada try to fly in my mouth, not once but twice! Well, they are finally gone, and yesterday we celebrated with a…
DIE, CICADA, DIE! PARTY
After all, we Nashvillians will use any excuse to throw a backyard BBQ during the summer. My friend Stephanie hosted. There was amazing food…
Blue cheese cole slaw, bean salad, homemade mac & cheese, and Mexican polenta casserole.
There were cicada cupcakes…
There was a cicada photo booth…
Me, Steph, and Lennon.
And best of all, there were cicada tattoos…
Sing. Fly. Mate. Die.
You should have been there. Oh well, we’ll do it again in 13 years. 
{ 96 comments }
I remember them coming as a kid but not after that for some reason. Maybe I played outside more then? I don’t know, but I definitely remember picking them up and putting them on people. I can’t imagine picking one up now!
You are brave. I would have had to be hospitalized.
my cousin & i used to collect the shells they left on the trees & pretend we were scientists!
those cupcakes are so cute! if you put chocolate stripes on the cicadas they could be “bee cupcakes!”
OMG Those are massive looking bugs!!!!!!!!
Heather to be honest I almost didn’t want to click over from my reader because I hate bugs! Yuck! And those are huge! I’d be screaming my head off if one landed on me.
I have to say those cupcakes are kind of cute though!
Holly,
Trust me, there was screaming.
I can remember when I was a kid, there was a summer like that where we were just invaded by cicadas! It was pretty freaky! Glad they are finally leaving you alone and that party looks like so much fun! What CUTE cupcakes
I shudder at the site of those ugly creatures. Blech. But thankfully the sight of YOU and the cupcakes make up for that
Omg, they’re really gone? Seriously?! I can go to Nashville without my bee-keeper gear on? Ugh, I HATE those things! My last trip to Whole Foods ended in me running like a mad woman to the car after one of them tried to fly into my hair!
Love the cicada party idea! Those are the cutest cupcakes!
Heather,
Yes, they are gone!!! Let’s celebrate together soon.
OMG, this is awesome! Glad they’re gone, but that party is worth it! Those cupcakes are fantastic, LOL. Love it! Your plate of food sounds sooo yummy. Blue cheese slaw is on my must-try list.
ahhh I’m pretty sure we don’t get those up north. Or not in my lifetime that I remember at least. The party theme is cute though, perfect excuse to celebrate!
Katie,
Trust me, you’d remember if you’d ever met a cicada.
Heather, this is one of the most hilarious posts I’ve read. I TOTALLY know what you are talking about! They are everywhere here in Alabama…I love their sound at night, it is so nostalgic and I always loved finding their shells on trees and putting them on my mom to scare her ! So thankful the attack is over
omg – this is so crazy – and hilarious and amazing! I would die if one of them was clinging on me let alone trying to fly in my mouth!! (HEATHER! You’re brave!!) the tattoos/and photo-booth are so funny – I wish I was there! xox
Nadia,
I wish you here too!
that is hysterical. stay out of upstate NY please!!
Ick. Bugs freak me out. Everytime I run/walk past a swarming patch – I don’t breath and swat like crazy…ickkkkkk.
Never heard of them…and not gonna lie – until I scrolled down I thought it was some type of Mexican food.
That would have been prettier
You guys go all out! – how are they “gone” now? The summer is just starting…are they only around certain months?
AHAHA! This is too funny! Seems like every time I talk to my mom, she has a new cicada horror story to tell me. My sister works at a summer camp in Brentwood and she told me that the #1 thing she says all day is “don’t touch the cicadas!” Can’t believe they’re finally gone!
Haha that is a great excuse for a party.
I’ll admit I kind of freak out when I see their “shells” on the ground. We don’t get them too often in PA but we have a million and ten of those dreadful stinkbugs!
Ohmygod! I am so scared of creepy-looking bugs.. I think I would have stayed indoors until they went away! I’m so creeped out just seeing the picture, ahhh!!!
So funny. I’m glad I don’t live anywhere near those things!
We get them, but not in the quantity where they are trying to take over like that, although one did land on Alex’s shirt last summer. I accidentally kicked a freshly molted one once that was on a curb outside and sent it into screaming hysterics… one of the freakiest noises I’ve ever heard!
I missed you and your blog so much over the last month! School has been crazy, but now it’s all over and I can relax, sit back, and read HEAB
Wow, those Cicada bugs do sound annoying! But I’m glad you were able to make a great party out of it! And those cupcakes are beyond adorable
Have a fabulous rest of the weekend, Heather!
<3 <3
Alexandra,
Yay for summer. So happy to have you back.
OMG! I would die if one landed on me! Thank god I’ve never seen one in Philly. Cute tattoos and picture booth. That little girl is ADORABLE
Isn’t it weird how cicadas only come around every few years? They were in my area a few years ago and it was utter torture! I hate them so much! Their departure is definitely worth celebrating!
Teenage Taste,
Yes, they’re visits are quite strange, and I dread them. At least it’s not every year!
Oh the pic of you with the headband is awesome! Love it!
And the tattoo…ever thought of getting a real one? You are so artsy and creative and you can rock awesome colors in your hair and you can totally pull off the tattoo vibe. Just sayin if you ever want to get one, I think ink would look so good on you!
Cicadas…ugh, I have lived through them when we lived in NC and SC…annoying is a good word!
Averie,
I’ve thought about it, but I’d be so afraid of picking a design I wouldn’t like in a few years. The whole “permanent” thing frightens me.
Nashville is such a cool city! Congrats on getting rid of those cicadas, those are annoying. The cupcakes were adorable.
Those Cicadas have scary eyes!
That is too funny that you had a goodbye party for them (LOL
I would be happy that they were gone, too!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
those things are so annoying. We get lake flies here so thick you literally have to hold your breath when you walk outside for about two weeks. They are tiny, so they fly right up your nose! And then they all die and all the houses are covered in dead bugs. Not pretty.
So glad you did a post to commemorate/share the cicada invasion with the rest of the blogosphere. Us Nashvillians have been braving the swarm the past few weeks (months?) and the everyone needs to hear about it! Haha. They were so bad at my apartment – the walk from my door to my car was CRUNCHY. But my cat liked them, so her food bill was cheap there for a bit!
Pamela,
Yep, I know all about those CRUNCHY walks. Not fun!
This is hilarious!!! Cicadas are horribly annoying to listen to for more than a day or two, and I can’t imagine having them on me… I’m not a bug fan! Killing them off sounds like the perfect reason to throw a party haha.
that is hysterical! i cannot stand them either. so friggin loud! boy it’s a party down in TN! bonnaroo is going on too! i miss going, maybe next year! it was one of the best experiences of my life!
Delicate Place,
Can you believe I’ve never been to Bonnaroo? Those first few years, it was such a mudfest, and then I just didn’t want to deal with all the traffic. Lame, I know. Some of my favorite bands have played there.
Ugh, those look awful and all bugs are bad in my book. Except for snails…dont know why but my mom used to tell me they eat the bad bugs and I like that they live in shell.
Totally unrelated, but the fire dept in this city in northern england had a whole fire truck and crew come down to an area to….you guessed it, save a snail that was stuck on a side of a building. To the snails credit, it was very very high up. Sorry for the boring side note.
Eden,
I’ve never minded snails either. They’re just slow and cute.
I HATE this things!! Thankfully they didn’t hit us here..but they certainly did back home. My mom said one of our trees was totally black because of how many were in it and the sound was deafening. GROSSSS!!
Augh! That does not sound like fun (the bugs). Do they hang around for a long time? Couldn’t you just go on vacation for a little bit?
Meagan,
I think they were here for about 6 weeks. I would have loved a cicada vacay!
I think I’m too far north to run into cicadas, but those cicada cupcakes and tattoos make me kinda wish I’d seen one before! (kind of, that is!)
How funny. When Kevin and I drove through Nashville on our way back to Charleston from Denver, at the end of May, we were amazed at how many cicadas there were! They were quite literally hitting our windshield like popcorn! We stopped off at Trader Joe’s, while in Nashville, and still could not believe how many were swarming everywhere. Totally insane! So glad, for your sake, that they are gone.
This. is. awesome.!! Those cicadas look freaky, it must be such a relief that they are finally gone! And what a great reason to throw a party
Oh boy…do I have a funny story about cicadas. My mom was born in Tucson, but moved to Yuma, AZ when she was in middle school. Cicadas are common summer insects in Arizona. They come out EVERY summer, not just every 13 years. My mom told of a summer in Yuma when she was young and loved to pull pranks on people. She would collect the cicada skins (after they shed) off of trees and she would put them in an empty candy box, open the phone book and randomly select a name and then mail the candy box full of cicada skins to the random person. Fast forward to the 70s when I was a little girl visiting my grandparents in Yuma and my mom gave me and my brothers the great idea about cicada skins. Only we mailed the candy box to my cousins in Houston, TX. They thought they were getting yummy chocolates from the Wisteria Candy Cottage in Boulevard, CA, a favorite stop from Yuma to San Diego. Little did they know when they opened the box, dozens of cicada skins would fall out. I thought it was funny at the time, but it sounds pretty cruel now.
I lived in Houston at the time, so we always made it up to my cousins with souvenirs for them when we got home from vacation.
Those cicada cupcakes look pretty good.
I like your new header, Heather. I always read blogs in my Google reader, so not sure how long you have had the new look.
Hugs…..
Tenaya,
That is hilarious. No kid nowadays would think to A)use a phonebook and B)actually mail something instead of using email. Amazing how much the Internet has changed things. Sounds like kids back in the day had a lot more fun.
Nice meeting you at the yoga studio this afternoon. You totally rocked those poses!!! I don’t do yoga often. My gym is Crossfit CFT. Come for a WOD (Workout of Day) sometime. Sat’s 10am workout is free.
Ling,
Yes, it was nice meeting you too – I’m so glad you introduced yourself. That yoga class was intense. All I wanted to do afterwards was sleep.
Crossfit totally intimidates me, but I would love to try a WOD. Thanks for the Saturday tip. I hope to go soon, and maybe I’ll see you there.
So Brett’s 2PM class is easier than Brent’s? I actually don’t look for anything intense on my rest day. Just want some stretching to help my muscles recover.
Don’t be intimidated by CrossFit. It is fun. And the coaches @ Crossfit CFT scale the workout for you. You can either observe a class, which can be done anytime, or join us for a workout: Sat’s 10AM class is free, otherwise, you’d need to pay 20 bucks for a single class. Feel free to let me know if you decide to give it a try.
That party is the cutest… I love the cupcakes. Cicadas are the are the worst.. and that awful noise they make ugh. They come to Cincinnati every 16 years or so, the last time they were here one got stuck in my hair. I am cringing just thinking about it!
cicadas are a total childhood memory! they are everywhere in south korea in the summer!
Jenny,
Really, I didn’t know that. Learn something new from my comments everyday.
The cicadas were pretty bad here as well; the sound was DEAFENING at my office and on the drive home…it was hard to ride with the windows down if you wanted to actually hear your radio.
This reminds me of The Little House on the Prairie when literally a cloud of crickets or grasshoppers invaded the city. I remember that part of the book so well!
I’ve never heard of them before!! All we have here are mosquitos, blackflies, horseflies and june bugs. All of which I’m conveniently allergic to. The mosquitos are the worst though, I went for a 90 minute walk the other day in the woods and came home with over 30 bites (yes, I counted!)
I love the idea for that party though, definitely something worth celebrating
Oh goodness! It’s like when the ladybug swarm take over my town evert spring here. One year I could barely see for a few days, the ladybugs were so thick. At least they are smaller than these cicadas things. I love your tatoo! And the cupcakes.
Love the blog, but have never commented before but this post made me laugh… I would advise you to never visit Australia in the Summer! Cicadas are out in abundance every year here (and deafening!)… along with many more varieties of bugs. At school we used to collect the cicada shells and hook them onto the back of peoples jumpers to scare them. The party looks so fun & the cupcakes look delicious!
Victoria,
Roger that. No visits to Australia in the summer. I’ve been during the winter months. A 2-week trip – it was wonderful. Such a beautiful place, and I hope to take Summer there one day…just not during cicada season.
Awesome looking party! We do get them in New York…When I hear them, it’s the sure sign that summer has arrived. I know the deal about every 13 years, but I swear I hear them every summer. Anyway, the only time I see them is when they die and fall from the trees. I do hate those large bugs, so I’m glad I don’t have to fend them off!
We have them in Japan EVERY YEAR. They are so gross.
Ew gross! I hate bugs…any bugs. when I was living in Australia I used to get up in the middle of the night for a pee and have to turn on every light in the house because I was always terrified of big giant cockroaches. They would get inside I swear they were the size of my head. I shiver even typing this.
In FL, we have lovebugs. They are huge pests for about a month each year. I loved the Cicada cupcakes, I’m pretty sure those could easily altered into lovebug cupcakes- I just need to add another head haha
Carey,
Go for it – just means more PB atop the cupcake and nothing wrong with that.
Hysterical! I love a good theme party and this one might be the most original theme I’ve ever come across. Solid gold. The cupcakes are precious…and yummy looking.
Heather,
ENJOY.
My friend sent me this Youtube video the other day, and I found it appalling. I am sure you will as well considering you have had enough of cicadas for another 13 years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn2UJ5Upm1E&feature=related
Sarah B, that is disgusting. Oh my gosh, I would freak out when my dogs put the cicadas in their mouths. Can’t imagine grabbing the camera to film my child doing it. Blech!
Are cicadas the insects that leave their shells attached to trees? Back when my family used to have a condo in Palm Springs, we would see a ton of cicadas in the summer (or was it Spring?) and we would pick their clingy shells off tree trunks. We even saw one hatch out of it’s shell one night. It was kind of awesome, but the bugs themselves made a really annoying noise. By the way, I love those cicada cupcakes! So cute!
Jen,
Yep, those were cicadas. We had their shells everywhere. Blech.
We have cicadas every summer in Australia! Thankfully, though, they don’t usually swarm, but they’re SO NOISY!!
Blue cheese coleslaw – I need to try that!
Hm… if they make the summertime noise—that buzzing sound when it’s hot—I’m on the fence about them. Bugs in mouth are BAD, but to have musical accompaniment for warmth? Awesome.
Stephanie,
I do like the cicada hum. Always makes me think of warm summer evenings.
I have never SEEN a living breathing cicada but I sure have heard them. Korea seems to be infested with them every Summer. They really do my head in.
What a cool idea for a party, those cup cakes are soooo cute!
haha love the party hats, or handbands
I remember living in FL and some of the insects we would see, gross
oh ieww yuck!! I still remember the very FIRST time I encountered the Cicadas here on SI NY!!! The were flying in my son’s stroller like crazy and they really freaked me out. Bugs EVERYWHERE and some just randomly dying and dropping literally out of the sky. *::shudder::* They STILL give me the creeps!! Glad you survived. That die cicada die celebration sure looked like a lot of fun
Oh my gosh!! I went to school at IU, and during one summer session cicadas invaded Bloomington! It was a full on attack. You couldn’t walk outside without them getting lodged in your hair, sitting outdoors to enjoy a beer was IMPOSSIBLE, and you could even hear them (chirping?) while inside lecture halls. Long story short, it was the worst summer of my life, and cicadas still invade my nightmares. I feel your pain!
Omigosh, they’re so scary! I have a bit of a bug phobia so I run screaming from a room when I see a ladybug.
Hilarious!!!!!! Love the cupcakes!
I’m glad you have all survived the invasion.
That party is too cute! I saw your tattoo on Sunday, but I did not see that it said “Sing, Fly, Mate, Die”. That is hilarious, although I wouldn’t refer to their sound as “singing” necessarily. I’m glad their gone, and that fact is definitely worthy of a party!
We haven’t had those things here in a few years! Not looking forward to whenever they decide to come back. I hate driving through certain parts of the city and you have to keep your windows up, eeek!
Ewww! Good riddance! That’s a cute reason to have a BBQ! Lately we’re enjoying Fireflies in the evenings…not so much with the mosquitoes. FYI, I was motivated this past weekend to get busy with PSE actions and posted the results to my blog (my baby girl eating a PBJ at Summer Breeze). Thanks for the nudge and for sharing with us. ;.)
Ah, this is hilarious! At least you made the best of it — that party looks like a good time!
You know, when I hear about bug plagues in other areas (love bugs, stink bugs, cicadas, etc.), I start to feel pretty content with the plain ol’ garden variety mice and roaches we have in NYC.
hahahaha – I laughed out loud at this post! The real things are nasty but those cupcakes are so adorable! Love the photo booth too
This is so funny! And I totally agree with you, these bugs are annoying. There were tons of them around here too, we went to ride our bikes and there were many of them on the trail and flying on us…. major yuck.
If I lived close to you I would be happy happy to celebrate the end of cicada season with you all!
Ana
What a fantastic idea for a party! I am so glad those bugs are gone. I heard some stores were trying to make a buck off those darn bugs by selling chocolate covered cicadas (yuck!). I think the cicada cupcakes are a much better (and cuter) option!
yuck, that seems horrible!! I think you all have done very well by having such a party! I am so glad we have no such insects where I live… Cheers to 13 cicadas-free years
Haha I am now a proud aficionado of cicadas! I read the article you linked to on Wikipedia
Thanks for contributing to my perpetual learning craze.
I remember learning about the cicada “swarms” in biology, but have never witnessed them firsthand. I LOVE the cupcakes, though. They are so adorable.
Heather, your sense of humor is one of your most uniquely beautiful qualities.
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2011/06/06/sparkys-will-not-make-more-cicada-ice-cream/
DISGUSTING!
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2011/06/02/sparkys-sells-out-cicada-ice-cream-noon/
This describes the actual ingredients surrounding the ice cream.
http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/news/story.aspx?id=625449
Honestly, I would NEVER try it… Would you?
Lauren,
I will eat some pretty strange things, but I would never eat that ice-cream no matter how many layers of brown sugar and chocolate coated the cicada bits. Gagging at the thought!!! Cannot believe it sold out that fast.
LOL Moment! I love it!
My gosh, I had no idea cicadas are such a plague in Nashville!
I like their singing, but the tiny beasts themselves I find rather disgusting. No way you had (more than) one in your mouth! 
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
I remember just one single time when I was night fishing with my dad and a giant inset came to sit on my chest. I heard that summing and then looked for it with my pocket lamp, and there it was, directly beneath my chin. I almost died from the shock and never went night fishing again!
I can’t watch this video unless I install the player, but the subject line told me enough. Cicada ice cream? Watch it!
http://oddnews.yahoo.com/video-odd-news-25619164
Jen,
Another commenter told me about the ice-cream. Can’t believe it sold out. Blech!
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