COVINGTON, Ky. — Brood X cicadas are now pretty much everywhere.
You’ve probably seen them in your trees or yard. And If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the trillions of these bugs that have emerged after 17 years underground, you can always just eat them.
Cassandra Homan is the urban forester for the city of Covington, and she’s buzzing about Brood X.
“So cute, smaller than I thought they would be though,” she said walking through a field filled with cicadas outside her office. “Totally not harmful at all. Pretty friendly, really.”
It’ll be another 17 years before these specific cicadas again, so Homan says: why not appreciate them?
Their sound, their feel, and even their taste.
“Sort of shrimpy, sort of earthy,” she said. “They’re a great source of protein, and people eat insects all over the world, like this is not that crazy to think about.”
Homan hasn’t tried eating one yet, but said she’s not opposed.
“Oh, I’m really tempted, honestly. They say they’re actually pretty similar to arthropods, like they’re in the same family, so it’s kind of like the shrimp of the sky,” she said.
Yes, people are indeed eating them, by putting them in cookies, covering them in chocolate, frying them up in stir fries, or just straight up.
NKU professor and entomologist Dr. Greg Dahlem explained that eating cicadas is not a new phenomenon.
“Well I sure remember people talking about eating them 17 years ago,” Dahlem said. “Right when they shed their skin, they’re all white. That’s the time you would want to eat them.”
Throwing white cicadas in the freezer is a humane way to kill them, Dahlem said.
In addition to humans, the Brood X cicadas are a great food source for birds, lizards and other small animals, Dahlem said. And when they die, they fertilize forests.
He said to get them while they’re hot, so to speak. Soon the cicadas will all be full grown adults up in the trees, and not as good to eat. But right now they’re ripe for the taking.
“You could make something tasty. I have no doubt that a good chef could make something that both of us would think is delicious from these things,” Dahlem said.
You may not be convinced, but Homan is.
“I would not eat them raw. I would prefer to prepare them first,” she said. “I would try anything once, so I’m kind of into the idea.”
Here’s some things to remember if you’re feeling hungry:
- If you have seafood allergies, you might want to avoid cicadas given their similarity to shellfish.
- The same rule of thumb applies for pregnant women, as cicadas can contain mercury.
- Also, the pesticides you use on your lawn can soak into the cicada you’re about to eat, so it’s important to be careful.