Yikes! This is my first time in experiencing Chicharra season. M was here in March last year and has lived through a season of this auditory trial. Chicharra is the local name for a cicada that is resident of these here parts and most of Costa Rica. They are very large and very loud. This visitor who spent the night clinging to our screen measures almost 4 inches long. March is their mating season and the males are presently screaming themselves silly for girlfriends.
We are only a couple of days into March and already the trees surrounding our property are literally buzzing. I'm told by everyone that these are early days. The young males are just emerging and by the end of the month, there will be millions. M says that last year, the sound was so loud that he had to cover his ears. Also more fun to come, hordes of chicharra will fly out of the forest and hangout on the walls of our house.
During the last couple of nights, we have had a couple of early, buzzing visitors. Attracted by the interior lights, the wall clingers try to fly in between the sliding screen door and the glass doors. I thought they were noisy out in the trees! The first time that one flew into the doors, I thought someone was walking around on the deck and trying to break in.
So far, they take breathers every once in awhile. I woke up in the middle the night and it was quiet. I found this very funny blog post about chicharra season. Read down on the post about the dog and didgeridoo sound effects. My developing philosophy is, living in Costa Rica, one must embrace the entomological world with gusto or you won't last. Fortunately, many of these insects don't bite. At least they don't bite me. M is not so lucky.
So many of these insects are intricately beautiful and serve a purpose in the grand scheme of our ecology. We have a "catch & release policy. Predominately, I'm the catcher/releaser. We keep a small drinking glass and a piece of cardboard handy on the kitchen counter. When an unwelcome visitor is spotted, I isolate it in the glass, slide the cardboard over the opening, then walk it outside.
I was rearranging the bodega the other day. (A bodega is built into many homes here. It is a secure room to secure your valuables with no windows, cement walls and steel door. Ours is in our garage.) I came across 2 baby scorpions while moving stuff around. M & I try to remember to wear work gloves and hiking boots with long socks when we are working outside as a protection against surprises such as baby scorpions. I walked with the captured scorpions all the way over to the farthest part of the property. In hopes that they find a more attractive home there than in our garage.
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