Man Discovers Too Late He's Allergic to Cicadas

This came from FOX too so who knows!!!:rolleyes:

Man Discovers Too Late He's Allergic to Cicadas

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — A man who cooked and ate nearly 30 cicadas sought medical treatment after suffering a strong allergic reaction to the sautéed insects.

The man showed up at a Bloomington clinic Thursday covered from head-to-toe in hives, and sheepishly told a doctor he'd caught and eaten the cicadas after sautéing them in butter with crushed garlic and basil.

"He said they didn't taste too bad, but his wife didn't care for the aroma," said Dr. Al Ripani, the doctor who treated the man at Promptcare East.

The man, who has a history of asthma and shellfish allergies, suffered a "significant allergic reaction," after eating the cicadas, Ripani said.

He said he gave the man antihistamines, steroids and a shot of adrenaline, then observed him for two hours before sending him home.

After living underground for 17 years and feeding on tree roots, the so-called Brood X cicadas (search) are emerging by the billions across the eastern U.S.

Ripani said recent newspaper articles extolling the tastiness of cicada cuisine should have warned people that dining on the bugs can be dangerous for some people.

"Severe food allergies such as this can be fatal," he said. "I feel that needs to be stressed in these articles."

He said the University of Maryland's department of entomology's Cicada-licious cookbook, which includes recipes for Cicada Stir-Fry and Cicada Dumplings, contains a disclaimer urging people to consult a doctor before eating cicadas.

"We ask that you please take special caution if you have other food allergies, such as soy, nuts or shellfish, or if you know of any contact allergies that you may have to other insects," it states.
 
PC-GUY said:
This came from FOX too so who knows!!!:rolleyes:

Man Discovers Too Late He's Allergic to Cicadas

for those who dont know what the heck PC-GUY is ranting on about and cannot be bothered hitting the search link in his post .....




:eek: :eek: :eek:

ewwwwwwww lol :)
 
Looks more like something they'd serve up on "Fear Factor" (Sky1) or "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here" - except they'd serve them up Klingon style.
 
Wow I'm glad I don't live their. Its like the bugs are slowly taking over!!!:eek:
If you have the flash plug-in you can see them.
Are they a delicacy?:eek::p:eek:

Cicadas emerge from 17-year slumber WASHINGTON (AP) — After a 17-year nap, trillions of red-eyed insects are crawling their way above ground in 14 states and the nation's capital.
Loudmouthed and ugly, the cicadas will fly clumsily into pets, bushes and unwitting pedestrians as they engage in a frenetic mating ritual that lasts well into June. (Related graphic: Cicadas emerge)

Then they'll disappear for another 17 years.

Keith Clay, a biologist and cicada researcher at Indiana University in Bloomington, said the appearance of cicadas is "an amazing biological phenomenon" that nonetheless produces a "yuck factor" for some people.

"They're not scared but see them as disgusting," he said.

Indiana is one of the states that will see the insects perhaps beginning this week, Clay had predicted.

The 1 1/2 inch-long black bugs with iridescent wings buzz around, but are basically harmless. They don't bite, and they don't sting. They live above ground as adults for about 2 1/2 weeks to reproduce all they can before dying.

The adult males begin the mating ritual with a long buzzing sound that attracts the females. The chorus from one colony's male insects is so loud that the insects can drown out outdoor wedding events, graduation ceremonies and golf tournaments, researchers say.

Scientists say this year's batch, the largest of the cicada groups that appear at various intervals, offers researchers a rare opportunity to study the insect's impact on the nation's forests. Recent studies indicate cicadas are growing in numbers due in part to deforestation.

Cicadas tend to thrive in sunlit forest edges, which often provide the warmer weather and younger trees most ideal for them to lay their young. That's because younger tree roots can sustain the 17-year feeding cycle of nymphic cicadas until they mature.

There are more than a dozen broods of 17-year cicadas, along with several 13-year varieties. This year's group, Brood X, is the largest and is concentrated in the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic.

Found only in the United States east of the Great Plains, the periodical cicadas burrow into the ground after hatching, some digging as far as 8 feet under. Below the earth, the nymphs slowly suck the sap from tree roots for nourishment.

After 17 years, they emerge and climb trees and shrubs, where they shed their crunchy skins and harden into maturity.

Sheer numbers is what ensures locusts' survival. The insects are a treat for robins and other birds, and even some pets, who are at risk for diarrhea or constipation if they eat too many. But many cicadas escape death because there are simply too many in the swarm for even the hungriest to devour.

"Their numbers simply overwhelm," Odland said.

Once the bugs mate, the females cut slits into tree branches, where they deposit 400 to 600 eggs. The adults quickly die, but the eggs hatch in a few weeks. The young cicadas dig into the ground and won't emerge into 2021.

The states which will see cicadas this summer include: Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2004-05-11-cicadas_x.htm
 
All trekkies would know, that a Klingon delicacy (like Gah) is usually served raw, live and wriggling!

I'm sure on Fear Factor, they had to eat live ****roaches - and the first time they did it, it was after throwing darts at a 1-10 target - but it didn't do to score high!
- next time, they deducted the score from 10 or 11
 
They really abound here, as well as in Italy and Spain- although their biological cycle is 9 years (I think...). They are absolutely harmless, but I guess noone could dare to eat them, as they are basically fed by pinetree resin. Eating them would be almost the same as drinking turpentine!
 
when i c a fly like that,i think of 2 things:get an insect killer spray or something zat can hit it hard ....
 
serjer said:
when i c a fly like that,i think of 2 things:get an insect killer spray or something zat can hit it hard ....
Well, we can hardly see them as "insects"... factly they are part of the Mediterranean culture. I will admit that they can get VERY annoying when the weather is very hot, and the males keep on "singing" the whole night long (and they sing damn loudly, believe me!) but cicadas (Gigalas in Italy, or Tzitzikia in Greece) is really a part of our life... In summer, we have got used sleeping with the accompaniament of their cacophony. Luckily enough, they don't exist when the weather gets cold...
 
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