Manguusu
Randomness:
There's a cicada outside my window. These completely harmless (but noisy) insects have lifespans between 13 and 17 years. Most of their lives are spent below ground, feeding of of the roots of plants. But once thirteen/seventeen years have passed, they surface, molt into adults, then have only a few weeks to find a mate and continue the species. Each group of cicadas is known as a "brood," and historically 30 broods are recognized to have existed. Now there are only 15. The largest of the 17 year broods, Brood 10, surfaced in 2004 and is expected to resurface in 2021. Next year (2011), the largest brood of 13 year cicadas (Brood 19) is going to surface. It will stretch from the Midwest to Maryland and Virginia. The sound will be deafening.
卍 一は全、
I have more cicada trivia! The above describes Periodical Cicadas (Genus: Magicicada). The one outside my window was a Dog-day Cicada (Genus: Tibicen). These guys surface every 2-3 years, but because there are so many overlapping generations, they appear annually during mid to late summer.
Now to copypasta from Wikipedia:
Wikipedia
Symbolism
In France, the cicada is used to represent the folklore of Provence and Mediterranean cities (although some species live in Alsace or the Paris Basin).
In the Ancient Greek myth, Tithonus eventually turns into a cicada after being granted immortality but not eternal youth by Zeus.
The cicada has represented insouciance (i.e. nonchalance or indifference) since classical antiquity. Jean de La Fontaine began his collection of fables Les fables de La Fontaine with the story La Cigale et la Fourmi (The Cicada and the Ant) based on one of Aesop's fables: in it the cicada spends the summer singing while the ant stores away food, and finds herself without food when the weather turns bitter.
In Japan, the cicada is associated with the summer season. The songs of the cicada are often used in Japanese film and television to indicate that the scene is taking place in the summer. The song of a particular cicada, called "tsuku-tsuku boshi", is said to indicate the end of summer, and it is called so because of its particular call. During the summer, it is a pastime for children to collect both cicadas and the shells left behind when molting.
In Japan, the cicada carries further philosophical connotations of re-birth. Since the cicada emerges from the ground to sing every summer, it is a symbol of reincarnation. Of special importance is the fact that the cicada molts, leaving behind an empty shell. But furthermore, since the cicada only lives for the short period of time long enough to attract a mate with its song and complete the process of fertilization, they are seen as a symbol of evanescence.
In the Japanese novel The Tale of Genji, the title character poetically likens one of his many love interests to a cicada for the way she delicately sheds her scarf the way a cicada sheds its shell when molting. A cicada shell also plays a role in the manga Winter Cicada. They are also a frequent subject of haiku, where, depending on type, they can indicate spring, summer, or fall. Also in the series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, cicadas (or higurashi) are a major subject in the series.
In China the phrase 'to shed off the golden cicada skin' is the poetic name of the tactic of using deception to escape danger, specifically of using decoys (leaving the old shell) to fool enemies. It became one of the 36 classic Chinese stratagems.
In the Chinese classic Journey to the West, the protagonist Priest of Tang was named the Golden Cicada; in this context the multiple shedding of shell of the cicada symbolizes the many stages of transformation required of a person before all illusions have been broken and one reaches enlightenment. This is also referred to in Japanese mythical ninja lore, as the technique of "utsusemi" (i.e., literally cicada), where ninjas would trick opponents into attacking a decoy.
In Mexico, the mariachi song "La Cigarra" (lit. "The Cicada") romanticizes the insect as a creature that sings until it dies.
In 2004, "cicada" ranked 6th in Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year.
In France, the cicada is used to represent the folklore of Provence and Mediterranean cities (although some species live in Alsace or the Paris Basin).
In the Ancient Greek myth, Tithonus eventually turns into a cicada after being granted immortality but not eternal youth by Zeus.
The cicada has represented insouciance (i.e. nonchalance or indifference) since classical antiquity. Jean de La Fontaine began his collection of fables Les fables de La Fontaine with the story La Cigale et la Fourmi (The Cicada and the Ant) based on one of Aesop's fables: in it the cicada spends the summer singing while the ant stores away food, and finds herself without food when the weather turns bitter.
In Japan, the cicada is associated with the summer season. The songs of the cicada are often used in Japanese film and television to indicate that the scene is taking place in the summer. The song of a particular cicada, called "tsuku-tsuku boshi", is said to indicate the end of summer, and it is called so because of its particular call. During the summer, it is a pastime for children to collect both cicadas and the shells left behind when molting.
In Japan, the cicada carries further philosophical connotations of re-birth. Since the cicada emerges from the ground to sing every summer, it is a symbol of reincarnation. Of special importance is the fact that the cicada molts, leaving behind an empty shell. But furthermore, since the cicada only lives for the short period of time long enough to attract a mate with its song and complete the process of fertilization, they are seen as a symbol of evanescence.
In the Japanese novel The Tale of Genji, the title character poetically likens one of his many love interests to a cicada for the way she delicately sheds her scarf the way a cicada sheds its shell when molting. A cicada shell also plays a role in the manga Winter Cicada. They are also a frequent subject of haiku, where, depending on type, they can indicate spring, summer, or fall. Also in the series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, cicadas (or higurashi) are a major subject in the series.
In China the phrase 'to shed off the golden cicada skin' is the poetic name of the tactic of using deception to escape danger, specifically of using decoys (leaving the old shell) to fool enemies. It became one of the 36 classic Chinese stratagems.
In the Chinese classic Journey to the West, the protagonist Priest of Tang was named the Golden Cicada; in this context the multiple shedding of shell of the cicada symbolizes the many stages of transformation required of a person before all illusions have been broken and one reaches enlightenment. This is also referred to in Japanese mythical ninja lore, as the technique of "utsusemi" (i.e., literally cicada), where ninjas would trick opponents into attacking a decoy.
In Mexico, the mariachi song "La Cigarra" (lit. "The Cicada") romanticizes the insect as a creature that sings until it dies.
In 2004, "cicada" ranked 6th in Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year.
Don't ask me why I like cicadas so much. I just do. mrgreen
全は一。卐
