Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Asleep

Here in my neck of the woods we are experiencing the 13 year cicada invasion. These cicadas lay eggs on small tree branches. The eggs hatch into tiny nymphs which drop to the ground. They burrow into the soil and live on tree roots for 13 years. After that 13 year long nap, they come out, make a lot of noise, mate, lay eggs and die... all in 5 or 6 weeks. A short, noisy life!

I like their little red orange bug eyes.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

cute! nice illustration

Daniel Chaffin said...

Great! Their eyes do lend themselves to illustrative depictions, don't they.
I always thought that 13-year thing was an old wives tale, but it turns out that you're right. Brood XIX is on the move.

Linda Hensley said...

One of the few bugs I like. We used to find their shells and wear them like jewelry because their feet would stick to our shirts :)

Debra Cooper said...

Adorable little critter, he looking forward to his debut. You might enjoy this video. My son who will be attending RIT for Motion Picture Science this fall passed it on to me.

http://vimeo.com/23991329

Eric Barclay said...

Excellent!

Jonas said...

Love the colours!

Sarah Melling said...

Fabulous illustration...and sooo original!

Sylvia Liu said...

so cute. I remember living in the DC area in the early 2000s when the 17-year brood came out and thinking that the next time they would come out, my 3 year old daughter would be 20!

Alicia said...

This is a great, original idea. Simple and lively. I love it :-)

Lynda Farrington Wilson said...

Love it!

Rae - Say It Aint So said...

i wish the real cicadas were that cute! i'm so ready for them to go back underground

Tracy said...

Ha ha! I love this! Their chirping used to drive me crazy when I was little. And it was always a little creepy going outside and seeing those empty "shells" or what-not. @ Linda above: YUCK! LOL