The Bugs Are Here

Once again, mainstream journalists are ignoring a grave threat to mankind, hoping to shield incompetent authorities from criticism for the horror that approaches:

Have any vivid memories of carting away shovels full of large, red-eyed flying insects back in 1990?

The Lake County Forest Preserve District would like to hear about them.

They're the damn government, don't they keep records? Maybe they should turn over bug work to credit report companies: they remember everything.

The district is seeking information from residents as it prepares for the emergence next summer of thousands of 17-year periodic cicadas, which appear all at once, in contrast to annual cicadas, which mature and emerge at different times.

[...]

"It only happens every 17 years and people tend to remember it because it's pretty fantastic when it happens," said Jennifer Filipiak, a wildlife biologist with the district. "I'm sure we'll get stories from people remembering having to shovel them away."

I would hope the people who had to shovel them away had the good sense to sell their houses and move away. Giant piles of dead bugs don't exactly remind me of home sweet home. My first call after clearing the dead bugs would be to a realtor. Actually, my first call before clearing the dead bugs would be to the realtor, and my question would be, "Why didn't you warn me about the giant piles of bugs?"

Also known as 17-year locusts, periodic cicadas are related to leafhoppers, not true locusts, which are a kind of grasshopper. They have red eyes instead of the green eyes of annual cicadas.

Cicadas are harmless insects with wide-set eyes, short antennae and transparent veined wings.

Harmless? They sound horrible. How can something that ugly be harmless? It's incongruous, and I don't believe for one second these bugs are harmless, no matter how many "biologists" and "scientists" say so.

The eggs for the 17-year cicadas were laid in 1990. The bugs have been living underground ever since, Filipiak said.

For 17 years they've laid in wait, and now are ready to launch their attack. We've had all that time to set up our defenses, yet our government has done nothing to protect us. So what do reporters do? They ignore the fact the authorities have no plan whatever to cope with this threat, and even help the desperate authorities by calling on the public to do Lake County's job. Disgraceful.

Think about that when a bug with giant, red eyes comes for you and your loved ones.

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