They're harmless, they're noisy -- and they are amazingly ugly. Both the larvae and the adults. And I've never known a dog that didn't love to eat them.
My grandmother (in Texas) lived next door to another elderly couple that had a little rat terrier that would spot one on a backyard tree and bark until someone came out of the house and caught it for her. (I know. YUK!) Scares me to think how they might multiply otherwise.
They must be tasty though. I read somewhere that the multi-year cycle in between swarms is thought to be an adaptation to keep any one particular species from becoming predators specifically to them. In other words, nothing can come to depend on them exclusively for a food source -- because they'd starve waiting for the next harvest.
Whatever the reason, I'm truly glad they're an occasional treat rather than a regular yearly occurrence.
They're harmless, they're noisy -- and they are amazingly ugly. Both the larvae and the adults. And I've never known a dog that didn't love to eat them.
My grandmother (in Texas) lived next door to another elderly couple that had a little rat terrier that would spot one on a backyard tree and bark until someone came out of the house and caught it for her. (I know. YUK!) Scares me to think how they might multiply otherwise.
They must be tasty though. I read somewhere that the multi-year cycle in between swarms is thought to be an adaptation to keep any one particular species from becoming predators specifically to them. In other words, nothing can come to depend on them exclusively for a food source -- because they'd starve waiting for the next harvest.
Whatever the reason, I'm truly glad they're an occasional treat rather than a regular yearly occurrence.