Attack of the Cicadas

The cicadas are burrowing their way up from their 17-year gestation around the Chicago area, and boy are they freaky. They essentially climb up trees and then explode, emerging from their own cocoon bodies as new bugs, leaving their six-legged exoskeletons clinging to tree trunks. They're supposed to be harmless, but in the masses that they emerge, they're kind of freaky. Here are a few shots of them from the tree in front of my office. Yuck.