Alien Invasion

A grotesque creature has decended, or should I say ascended, into middle Georgia. With the right light and music, Magicicada would look and sound at home pursuing Sigourney Weaver through the Nostromo. Much like the acid filled bugs in Alien, these insects have been waiting for just the right time to emerge.

Over the last three weeks, millions of 13 year cicadas have crawled out of the ground as grubs, shed their skin, and emerged as loudly singing, red-eyed, winged monsters. Unlike the late-summer annual cicadas (which actually emerge from the ground every three to five years, but are present every year), these annoying beasts emerge every 13 years (some are on a 17 year cycle). Their only goal is to mate, lay eggs in tree branches, and die. The young hatch, fall to the ground, and burrow below, not to be seen for another 13 years.

With so many of these odd creatures flying about the yard, I couldn't resist a few macro shots. As such is the case with any photo, my intent is to capture something unexpected, yet something that tells a story. These were all taken with my Sigma 105mm macro, the only lens I own that is not a Nikon. With a depth of field of less than a 1/4 inch at f2.8, shooting handheld is tricky and any breeze is a curse. While a tripod might have made focusing easier, navigating a camera through tree limbs and following the bugs made it impractical, if not impossible.