Brood X!

our feet. Something is stirring. In fact, millions of some things are stirring. Rude X is about to emerge, and we should put aside our petty squabbles about whether millennials eat too many avocados or zoomers do too many TikTok's about avocados and prepare ourselves for Browed X that has been waiting seventeen years to emerge from the ground. What is browed X? Should we panic? Must we accept brewed X as our new leaders? And how might we ingratiate

ourselves to them? Discover this and more to be answered. The angel question, how is it fair that swarms of baby turtles are considered cute, but swarms of bugs are considered quote qualifying. Joining me today to discuss brewed X and other mass spawning events is author of the book Where Am I Now? Actress? An unofficial President of All Millennials. Maura Wilson, Welcome, Thank you so much for having me.

I'm very excited to talk about this brewed X. It sounds a lot scarier than it actually is, I think, or is it. No, you're right, yeah, it sounds scary. It sounds like this is our come upance as a and we're about to face the music, the very loud music. But no, it is. It is actually very very interesting thing in evolutionary biology. So this browed X is a mass cicada blue. First, I want to ask you, Morow,

how's your feelings towards cicadas. You know, I don't think they have them where I grew up, or at least not in the ways that they do on the East Coast, because I they so so seventeen years so they were, because I do remember hearing about them when I was a teenager. Yeah, so probably when I was That was two thousand four, so I would have been sixteen or seventeen, and I do remember spending my summer on the East Coast, and I think that was the first time I've ever

heard cicadas. Yeah, yeah, I think we do get So I grew up in San Diego, and I think we get some cicadas there, but definitely we don't get the mass branding events that happens on the East Coast. I think, like, maybe i'd heard them before, but I didn't know what they were. Whereas whereas when I lived on the East Coast, like I definitely I had heard cicadas and and I knew what they sounded like, and I think, yeah, I was.

I was like visiting family on the East Coast in two thousand and four, and I was like, what's this weird noise in the trees that seems to be everywhere? And what are these like dead bodies littered on on the ground. So so so yeah, so I'm kind of indifferent to them. I don't think that they're They're like I like the sounds of crickets chirping. I don't mind the sounds of cicadas so much. It is a bit overwhelming, and it is a bit gross when like their corpses

littered the streets. But again, I haven't had to deal with that as much. So, so it's it's not you know, it's not as much of an annoyance as like as like coyotes are to me, or like or or like snails or things like that where I'm like gross, you know. But then you missed the Giant snail episode that Yeah, oh god, snails dress me out so much. I'm sorry, Katie, but I'm gonna have to skip that episode because I

think they're I think they're the grossest things ever. My friend Bridget also she's been on the show, also disgusted by snails. Yeah, so I won't tell you the story about when I was a toddler. I used to just eat garden snails. I mean that's that's you know, that's that's French. That's it. Yeah, that's got Yeah exactly. Now I wouldn't. I can't eat I can't eat scargo. Maybe it's because I like as a kid, it's just like,

you know what, I've eaten enough snails good. Yeah, I've heard it's also not very good unless it's prepared a certain way. So it's like it's like one of those things that turns out kind of rubbery and yeah, yeah, I don't know how I managed. The reason, uh, I know I ate snails because I barely remember anything from that age is that my mom said that I would come, I would go out in the yard and then come back and I had like snail shell. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mark, Yeah,

I'm gagging. I don't I haven't done that in quite a while, I know. But just the idea is is, yeah, well, that's that's your gross out of the episode. Thank you for I figured there would be one. So yeah, so cicadas maybe not that gross, but maybe a little intimidating. So this spring in the US, we are welcoming millions of cicadas into the world in a mass hatching event. So yeah, yeah, I guess, like before we talk about the mass bonding, let's talk about like what what even

is a cicada? Right? They are a very loud bug. They are a true bug. They're like we call a lot of insects bugs, but there are just a few species that are known as like true bugs and others that I guess I want to be bugs. I don't know. But it's like how there's no such thing as a fish Like I always thought like bug was kind of like a fake name that was just sort of grouping a bunch of different creatures together. There's actually but there is actually there is such a thing. There is actually

true bugs. So yeah, I mean taxonomy gets very I don't know, there's a lot of gray areas. There's a lot of like you know, like with you mentioned with fish, there there are like rafein fish and then but a lot of things that aren't fish are called fish, like jellyfish are not fish. They're night arians. Um, We're actually gonna talk about some more night arians at the end of the episode, uh, which will be very strange. But yeah,

So so Cicada's true bugs. And they're actually related to leafhoppers, those cute little leaf shaped bugs that are really good jumpers and they come in really interesting shapes. So I think we did an episode on leafhoppers before. But yeah, they are very interesting bugs, very beautiful they are. That's like one of the things that like blows. It's it's like like if you ever want to blow like a four year olds mind, you know, show them a picture

of a leafhopper. Because I remember like I remember being in like preschool, in kindergarten and going to I don't know if it was a nature preserve or what that Seeing leafhoppers and stick bugs and just losing my like, what how does this exist? How does this? How is this a thing? Yeah? It looks yeah, they look like made up bugs that someone like paper machade together. And I was like, yeah, I'm just gonna make a bug that's a lead. But I never would have thought they

were related to cicada's. Yeah. Yeah, Like leafhoppers have that sort of triangular shape, so they're different. So there's there's leaf bugs that have the sort of flat leaf, and then there's leafhoppers where they still look like leaves, but they're like kind of folded up leaves where they have

that triangular shape. Uh, and they're really good jumpers. If you've ever like you may see something that looks like a little leaf, but then it has like little legs and then you try to pick it up and then it just almost disappears by how quickly it can jump. That's a leafhopper. And cicadas are sort of like bigger versions of this, except they don't they don't uh typically camouflage as leaves. They have wings in a thick triangular body.

There are many species of cicadas and They come in a variety of colors, from black to brown to green. There's even orange and blue hues. And they are fairly decently sized. So the smaller species are about point seven five inches or about two centimeters, and the largest species can be over two and a fourth inches long or five point seven centimeters, so you know big. Yeah, I've seen them before and they are pretty big. The ones

that I've seen were pretty big. Yeah. Yeah, Like you don't want to get hit in the face, like when you're when you're on your bike, just for example, no reason. I mean, I haven't had that happen, but I have had. What are the Jerusalem beetles or not? They're like, oh yeah, or what are the crickets? What are it's not your recent crickets. What am I thinking of? They're like the big flying there's these big flying things that are like big and blue. They look like giant bees. Oh yeah,

those are I don't know what they're called. We have them in southern California. I think they're Are you thinking about june june bugs? No, they're not june bugs, because they're they're like they like fooled in on themselves. They like roll up and they fly and they're like brightly colored and they look like they're like some kind of flying beetle. And but I've I've gotten one in my hair before. Oh yeah. I was like by my friend's

pool and one got caught in my hair. Uh. I've also I've also found multiple spiders in my hair before, which I think, which I think means or only one at a time. But like, I've had a spider in my hair once and then like I can't even remember it happening. But just last year, I found a spider in my hair and I was like, oh no, not again. And I was like, wow, that's a weird thing to think. I'm just proving my goth side. Like up spider. I got a spider in my hair again? Oh no, yeah,

oh gosh, yeah, I have. I have bad like luck with things getting in my hair too. I was at um, well I won't name the restaurant so I won't get sued, but a burger restaurant, and I felt something land on my head and I was like, well, that's strange. And I just sort of mindlessly reach up and pick it up and it's a giant cockroach. Oh good. Yeah, And I was like um waiter, there's a cockroach that fell on me. And he was just like, oh, I'm sorry. I was like, you might you might want to look

into that, like to check it out. I don't. I generally don't mind bugs. Like if a spider gets on me, there's an initial startle reflex. But it's something about it being in the hair that I hate, like like emerging from your hair, because you're like, it wasn't emerging in my hair. I just and it was a tiny spider, but yeah, the idea of it emerging from your hair feels like a like a creepy urban legend, right, yeah, exactly, like the oh what's that the grudge? You know, exactly,

the fingers. The tiny spider I looked at it might have been a fig eater beetle, okay, yeah, because it was big and iridescent and that getting caught in my hair. I did mind that. I was like, you are too big. Get out of my hair right now? Yes, yes, no, no, I've I've I've been smacked by by and they just they just it's just like you are so big, how can you fly? Yeah? Exactly. I mean like that's how I feel about cicadas too, They look to eaty to fly,

but they are. They are lighter than they look, and they have big wings. Even though like maybe getting smacked in the face or having them land in your hair might be unpleasant, you don't really have anything to worry about because they are vegetarian vampires. They will not suck on human blood. They only suck on tree blood or sap out of roots and tree twigs, so they thankfully they are not out for human blood. That's good to know. If they were, we would all be screwed. We would

definite Oh we'd be so dead. Uh So, the extremely loud calls they make are due to their bodies basically being designed like an instrument. So males sing to attract females. So that loud, droning buzz you here in the summer that can be ear splitting at times, is males going come on and get some of this to all the

females trying to attract them. It's kind of like a rising and falling sound, right like, dude, dude, yeah, yeah, it kind of sounds like a little tiny buzz saw that like little little forest gnomes are doing some serious high rises in the forests with little teeny tiny buzz saws. But yeah, it gets very loud. I mean it gets as loud as a buzz saw. Like, it's very very loud because there are thousands of them right well, even

a single one can produce a very loud call. And then when you combine them it, yeah, it can be deafening because one cicada can produce a sound that is about almost as loud as a chainsaw. Yeah, so crickets and other loud sound making bugs and another like there there are lots of animals that that can make loud sounds. Often use a technique called stridulation to produce their call. That's where they rub their wings or legs over a ribbed body structure and kind of like play themselves like

one of those wood scraper instruments. Remember in school when they made you sit in the circle and you're like here, you get this wood block that you did. You get this like ribbed wood thing that you like scrape back and forth. You get the triangle. And like they would only entrust the triangle to the non annoying kids because like otherwise the situation would get out of control. That was a privilege that was, yeah, definitely, because otherwise it

was just like clink clink, clink, clink clang and pandemonium. Yeah, like that wooden thing that has like the grooves in it and you like rub the stick on it. It makes that like noise and it's like kind of the lame instrument that you get and you don't really love it. But uh, that is how a lot of crickets, and that's how other animals will produce that loud noise through stridulation. But cicadas don't use this technique like that. They are

actually different. They don't use stridulation. They instead have specialized structures in their exoskeleton called tim balls. So tim balls are these membranes that are connected to muscles that can vibrate them rapidly, producing a very loud sound. In fact, cicadas are the loudest insect in the world. So it's kind of like you know those like big metal sheets

that you shake to make it sound like it's thunder. Yeah, yeah, I've seen that happen, Like like I was on I worked on I remember we're on a movie once and we we were on this this lot that used to be like an air force base, I think, and there was a pool in there and they made thunder sounds by putting a giant sheet of metal in the pool, and it's like really scary echo. Yeah. I was always

amazed by that. That's interesting. I didn't realize they actually put it in submerged it like in water, though it wasn't in water, it was an empty pool. Oh, I see, So it would would like the resonance of it. Yeah, the resonance would be very cool. It was really cool. I you know, it was one of those like, oh that's how they do that kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, that would be I feel like that would be spooky though too. There's something about like a big empty rooms

and then like loud sounds in them. It was very spooky. Yeah, yeah, it's spooky. It's like the idea of like going to a an abandoned theme park and then all like the the carousel just starts up and it's just music and an empty and then you're like, oh, well, zombies are going to come now exactly exactly what have you done? Yeah?

But yeah, so so that these timbles kind of work like those big metal sheets, uh, and but they're they're they're smaller and they vibrate them much more quickly, and so you get that I don't know if you'd call it high pitched, but sort of medium pitched, like buzzing humming sound. And uh, and I provided you with lovely images of cicadas and like a little a little animated textbook illustration that ship. I don't know how helpful. This animation is all included in the show notes so everyone

can see it. But basically it's showing like, look, it's this membrane and it goes it like sort of wobbles in and out. I think I find it really interesting. Also, I love that it's from a site called cicada mania dot com. Everybody has subscription, everybody has their thing. I'm I'm actually subscribed to Cicada bi weekly. But it looks and it's interesting because it's it's kind of ribbed structure. It looks mechanical. It looks like a machine part. In fact,

the whole cicada looks very robot like. It looks like an alien machine, you know, kind of like a mixture between organic and machine, which I find pretty cool. But yeah, so that's how that that sound is produced. And just just for fun, I will play a really loud cicada I'll make sure it doesn't. It's not gonna blow out your ears because I'm going to control the volume. Um, so don't worry. But you know that this it's it sounds like construction work. Here is what it sounds like.

It to me, it sounds almost like somebody revving up a motorcycle engine. Yeah, because it kind of it kind of goes like rude. Yeah, there's like sort of a rise and fall. Yeah, no exactly. Yeah, it's like little again, little forest gnomes on their math of hogs, just like rubbing around trying to get women's attention, which like it was probably yeah, I mean probably what a lot of dudes on motorcycles are trying to do. Yeah, you're right, you're right. So kadas are very much like like duds

on motorcycles. Yeah, just making some noise. Yeah, that's that's that's yeah, that's that's what it seems like to me. Yeah. So, so fellas and ladies out there, if you're trying to seduce someone, uh yeah, just like make really loud buzzing noises. I think it'll work. You've got the creature feature guarantee that that'll that'll get you some phone numbers by a motorcycle, it'll it'll definitely attract some people for sure. Or a buzz saw yeah, or a bus well yeah, if you

just stand around with a buzz s I don't know. Yeah, I don't know how many people that will attract to you. But but very special people it'll be. It'll be a match made in heaven. Once you find someone who appreciates in a forest, maybe then it's like, oh, you're a lumberjack in the middle of it, in the middle of the street. Maybe not. Yeah, I'm not gonna make not gonnas. So now we know what cicadas are, and so we are ready to welcome millions and millions of new cicadas

into the world this spring. It's like, you know, spring is always associated with cute little bunnies and cute little baby chicks, but why not cute little cicadas. So the spring is very special because the periodical cicadas are having their moment. So there are a few species of cicada that have periodical broots, so a mass brood that stays in stasis underground, often for over a decade and will

emerge altogether in one big party. So right now in eastern and central US, cicadas that have been resting and developing underground for seventeen years will emerge fully grown and ready to mate. So, if you're seventeen years old and listening to this podcast, like, these cicadas are the same age as you, They've just been your entire life, have been waiting underground to emerge. Oh so maybe so maybe I was born in a cicada year. You could have been, Yeah,

because I think I turned seventeen the last time. Yea, so maybe your cicada baby. Exactly. So, this group of emerging periodical cicadas the spring are called brood decks, which I love how menacing, Like I love how scientists don't shy away from naming things like menacingly they don't. I mean, of course, you have to lean into it, you know. I love the book lean In by a Cicada, and

it's just like the cover, looking professional. So this group of emerging periodical cicadas will emerge around May of this year in Delaware, Illinois, Georgia, Indiana, New York, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Michigan, Washington, d c So if you live in any of those places, congratulations. There will be millions of cicadas coming out this spring, and they will be extremely loud because they are looking

for mates. Basically, what happens is they'll pop out of the ground, mate, lay their eggs, and then die in a few weeks. So the males will make their characteristic buzzes and the females will flick their wings which makes us kind of like snapping sound like a finger snap, much louder, and that is signaling to the male that

they are enticed by their revving sounds. And then they go and mate, and then the female will lay the eggs in the branches of trees, and shortly after that, the adult ticada's die because that's that's it, like that, that's there. They've had their big party and then they're like, well, I'm out of here, and then they die. And that's why there's a bunch of Maria. You're mentioning, you found

a bunch of cicada corpses. Yeah, now you'll also find often like a bunch of uh they're not necessarily corpses, but the final molding, so it's like they mold out of their various life stages. And so if you find sort of a hollow sort of kind of like amber colored, like it looks like sort of a casing. I remember what they look like because of the game nako at Sume, the cat collecting game. One of the cats, Like the cats will give you little treats and it'll be stuff

like a broken collar. It's the kind of stuff cats will bring you, like like a a you know, an old an old you know, a shoelace or a broke half a mouse, and yeah, exactly. And and one of them is actually cicada multi oh wowating and I remember I saw that and I first saw it, like brought back so many memories. I was like, oh my gosh, I haven't seen one of these in years, but I know exactly what it is. Yeah, yeah, so they they you need to connect me with this game because I

need to play any game that makes a cicada reference. Yeah, it's the Nicotsume, it's the cat Collector game for I love this. It's very cute. Yeah, I gotta, I gotta

check it out. This episode is not sponsored by this but but if you want to sponsor us, get at me so you'll find both the cicada corpses, which you can tell if they're they're the corpse because they are actually they have the full wings and I think the ones in the US are sort of blackish blue color and then their wings are are lined in a bright orange and so that's that's the adult form of the cicada, whereas the casing, like the malten cicadas, it's sort of

it'll be this like kind of translucent amber color. And the wings are clearly not fully developed on these because in their earlier stages of formation, the wings are little and they're not functional yet because they get bigger and bigger with each molting. So they traveling. They don't traveling groups, but they live in groups, right sworms, Yeah, because because

they remember hearing them altogether. Yes, Yeah, I mean, like this is the this is sort of the entire point of this mass emergence from the ground, is that they emerge all at the same time, basically millions of them, and then all mate at the same time, lay their eggs at the same time, and then that'll start the process again. So yeah, because because I bet like females probably aren't that discriminating when it comes to Yeah, they can actually be because they have the they have the

luxury to be discriminating because they're so many males. So like they'll listen to these these calls and if they like the song, like if it's it's like, yeah, that's a that's a nice that's a nice motor revving sound. Uh, they'll invite the mail over with the wing flicks and then they'll mate. So I just feel like if if you do your wing flick at like a group of guys, who's gonna know how do they know who it is? You? No? Not you? That guy? That guy know that one? No

that one over there, No not you. Yeah, that's a really good question. I'm not sure. I would imagine it may have something to do with timing, like they hear a call and then they sort of do a wing flick at them right after their call. But yeah, you're right, like there must be some that's a really good question. I wonder if there's any research onto like how they are able to like directionally locate where the stuff is coming from. I'm sure they probably have some a very

interesting auditory system there there. Their auditory system actually also works as a resonance chamber, so it's like they they have this very complex little machine apparatus. So I wouldn't be surprised if they have some very complex way of being able to differentiate the direction of sounds so that that would make it easier. I mean, that's yeah, that's

a really good question. I went to theater school and very familiar with resonators, with using your vocal resonators and so so yes, what now what do you call me? Just let the the using, Yeah, using, using the different parts. Yeah, that's that's the residence is something that you know, I admire other creatures. They're natural born actors, but they yeah, but especially when they live and die on the stage. Yeah. Uh. And also with like how many of them are trying

to exactly Yeah, yeah, it's true. It's true. When the female lays the eggs will actually lay them in the branches of trees. And then again the adults to Kato was like, well, we had our big party, now now we're out you and they die. Uh. And then the when the large the the eggs hatch with this little teeny nymph like a baby cicada. The nymphs will fall to the ground and burrowed down a couple of feet near the tree roots, near the plant roots, and then

they will wait another seventeen years before they emerge again. Um. Underground, they live off the juices of the tree roots, which is called xylem. Basically, like I said, they are tree vampires um, and they take years to fully mature. So they go through many stages of molting and transformations from the nymph form, which is the young wingless stage after hatching two adults where they have the full wings and

they're ready to party. Uh. So they slowly developed those wings which with each molting and then once they've reached their final stage of maturation, which is about at the same time. Because again they were all the eggs were laid at the same time, they all went underground at

the same time. They're all synchronized, which is incredible. Uh. They will start to burrow upwards and they test the temperature of the earth and once it is above about sixty four degrees fahrenheit or eighteen degrees celsius, they're like, yep, temperatures, right out we come. And then it happens again and they actually leave a bunch of holes in the ground, which for me, that's like the spookiest part it's not

seeing all the cicadas. It's like seeing the holes. Like do you ever have you ever read a gingi eto, uh, like his horror comics. No, I don't think I have. But I mean that just sounds creepy. There's a horror Mango where it's like all these human shaped holes in a cliff face and like people like go inside and just get sucked up. It's kind of it's just like all these like little cicada holes. It's just it's a little creepy. That's that. I don't know why, but that's

the part that kind of creeps me out. And it's not it's not triple phobia. I don't have that, that's the Yeah, it's it's not really that. I think. It's just the knowing what they are. Like that's where like this brood comes out from I don't know, gives me the shivers. Um. I mean, I feel like if you grew up in southern California or or you know, anywhere in the Southwest, you probably holes in the ground means snakes.

So I always, you know, my dad would always say, never put your your your hand or foot somewhere you can't see. Yeah. No, that's a good point. Yeah, because like I remember when I was a little kid and I was like digging around in the dirt. I found a hole. I was like, oh, I'll dig down in this hole. Scorpion, scorpion, and don't you that. Yeah, don't

do that. That's why I have. I have family that live in the desert and they're just kind of like, well, the cat killed another scorpion today, and scorpions are so common to them, and I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, that's a bit overwhelming for me. Scorpions are. I think they're fascinating and cool, but but I'm want them. I wouldn't want them to be doing battle with my cats or me. Yeah they're great parents. Scorpions are, but they

don't want them in my room. I've I'm like in my parents house where I grew up, where actually I am right now because I'm visiting my parents because the vaccine. Hey, we're right next to sort of this arid canyon area. And so for whatever reason that bugs loved my room. Maybe they could sense a kindred spirit. But I would get like scorpions would get in there, and it's like it would only be my room for some reason, or maybe I was the only one looking around for scorpions.

But it's scorpions. I got like a plenari in once. It's like weird, a sort of warm thing. And I got the you mentioned. I think it was a misnom where you were talking about the fig beatles, but the um but Jerusalem crickets are around here as well, So I got got one of those. Those are creepy, uh their faces something about I don't know, but yeah, so so I got a bunch of weird bugs, including uh, including scorpions, never a cicada though only heard them from

a distance. Speaking of bugs and them encroaching on us, you may be asking, why do they do this mass brooding event? Is it just to scare us? What's going Is it an intimidation thing? Oh? God, why are they doing this? So it's interesting because most cicada species aren't like this. They don't lay in wait for seventeen years and then emerge on mass like uh. They live for a few years, and they have like annual mating cycles,

just typical stuff. The periodical brooding cicadas are interestingly different, Like their whole name is based on this, this brooding habit they're called magic cicada, which sounds like it's like magic cicada, which is I love, But it actually comes from the Latin may gui or magi. I think it's magi um, yeah, which means to a great extent. So it's basically saying like, there's a bunch of them, But I also like to think that it's because they're magic,

just like magic cicada. Yeah. But the purpose of this huge brood emergence is probably safety in numbers. There there are so many of them. As an individual cicada, you're statistically unlikely to be preyed upon in such a huge mass of others. And it makes mating easier because you just have one big meat and Greek party with millions of sexy singles in your area. Exactly. It's it's what everybody everybody like, you know, what what people be like,

you know, me and my homies. Once we get the vaccine, Yes, of course, it's not going to be like that. It's much more going to be like you know us slowly, you know, climbing out of our cade where we've been hibernating. Yes, it's it's probably not going to be as fun and sexy as the cicadas, you know. But I didn't make that connection until now. But you're absolutely right. It's like a metaphor for emerging from quarantine. We're coming out of our holes that we've been in for which feels like

seventeen years, but it's been over a year. And then we'll probably have a mass meeting open and we should definitely call like all the babies that happens because of like after the quarantine one like mating, we should call them brutex. They should be brute x. Yes, that would be that would be a great and and yeah, that would be a great, a great name for them, I think babies. And they would share, they'll share. Oh and

oh my god, this is so perfect. It's like when nature is just poetic because we're going to share a birthday with millions of cicadas. Have a bunch of cicada babies or like, well, I guess not exactly, because they'll be conceived now, they'll they'll there's gonna be like quarantine has been long enough that there are you know, conceived

in quarantine babies. That's true. That it's true. I thought there wasn't like there was expected a baby boom, but there wasn't because people didn't feel like having a child. There then there might still be there might still be in the next but yeah, but probably it was. It was a bit too depressing. I think there's gonna I think the celebratory we're out of quarantine baby boom is

gonna be much bigger. I mean also because I think probably a lot of people wanted to have children and then we're waiting until after quarantine, So like I imagine a lot of them are going to be planned pregnancies of like, hey, we're out of quarantine, now we can start our families. Yeah, exactly, And so they're gonna be Yeah, it's it's beautiful. You your babies are going to share a special a special year with the millions of cicadas that are also going to breathe this year. Yeah, Cicada

generation wonderful. It's just it's beautiful. It's it's like a poem. It's it's yeah, it's they're synchronized, you know, much like the cicadas themselves now synchronized with the cicadas. So we're just gonna slowly become more and more cicada like. Uh so. Yeah. Another proposed theory for why they have such a long brooding cycle is that it makes it hard for predators

to adapt to your weird intervals. So like, if you are only like you only emerge every seventeen years, evolutionarily, it's kind of difficult for predators to have, Like they don't have a lot of predators don't have a lifespan of seventeen years, so matching up with with that and being able to develop specific um evolutionary traits to be able to prey upon you is harder. Although some biologist

disagree with this theory. They say, like, well, there's actually a fungus that has developed that can specifically prey upon these periodical cicadas, So obviously there's you know, but but I still think that like, yeah, obviously fungus like probably because it's under the ground and terrifying they are, Yeah, they they there's no defeating fun guy, Like that's the final boss. Honestly, like we we'd like to we're like, oh, no cicadas, No cicadas. We don't have to worry about them,

fun guy, that's what we got to worry about. That's what's that's that's the zombie virus is not gonna be a virus is gonna be a fungus. Yeah, like the most terrifying. Like I think about how I'll walk outside and I'll see mushrooms pop up out of nowhere one morning and then the next day they'll be gone, and I'm like, how did you do that? How did you pop up and then go away? How? It's it's I I do not understand them. I have respect for them. Yeah,

I'm not. I'm not a fun guy expert as much as I wish I was, But yeah, they they there's something about room that spooks me because they're not they're not an animal, but they're not really a plant either or in that in between zone of spookiness. And yeah, so especially the parasitic fungus like Court accepts. Yeah, spooky because that goes inside and ant's brain or other insects Mexico uh like takes over their brain, makes them climb up a tree branch and then sprouts spores like right

out of their brain. That's what the last of us that gave the video game about zombie apocalypse like that that the last of the space there zombie infection on the court as ups. Really that makes sense. Yeah, I've heard about the last of us. But nobody has has told me that that that. Yeah, that sounds really cool. Yeah it is. I really loved that aspect of the game. It's like the biological meshing sort of these biological facts

with their their the science fictions. I mean we we we kind of understand bacteria, we we kind of understand viruses, but yeah, like fun guy and like what are they? Things are? Things? Are? Those are the misfolded proteins that that just like, yeah, houses a ruckets in your brain. They don't like that. Those are scary. But I do think like, aside from fun Guy, which are uh not

a fun guy. Uh, you know, I think that that strategy of like if you lay in wait for like seventeen years, yeah, like birds aren't gonna know what to do about you, Like, their lifespans are typically not seventeen years long, so they're not going to have any memory of these brooding events. Are not going to know like when to come and pray on you. So I think that maybe that is part of the strategy. Um. Interestingly, sometimes there are stragglers who either come too early or

too late to the big brooding party. So it's not not perfect, you know, Nobody's perfect. Poe Buddy's nerfect, and that applies to Cicada's too. I feel like I've heard them before. I've heard like like a strug. Yeah yeah, I feel like we get that, like used to get the they're not actually June bugs, but we call them June bugs in in California, And like once or twice we would get a June bug that was late. My mom was like, oh, sorry, dude, you're late. It's not

June anymore. And and yes, Kada's eat here. Sometimes you'd hear like one and it was just like, yeah, it's like anybody is still out here. Yeah, uh yeah. But what's interesting is if there's enough stragglers, because there's so many of them, even if you're a straggler, the chance that there's going to be another straggler is pretty high.

So uh, sometimes there are enough of them that they actually successfully made like a group of them, and then they can get off sink a little bit from the rest of them, and that can actually start a new brood that also they still have like the seventeen year cycle, but because they're like off sinc just a little bit, they start like a different brewd that will actually hatch different years. So there are many different um cicada brewds, so brute x is not the only one. There are

cicada brewds that emerge every seventeen years. There's some that also emerge every thirteen years, so slightly different species. Yeah, because I know I've heard cicadas at times that weren't just that wasn't just seventeen years ago. Yes, because well, first of all, there's the cicadas that aren't periodical brewders, so they they are around every year UM, and they don't do this behavior of waiting seventeen years. They have

like a yearly reproductive cycle. But you may be saying, like, well, I've seen like mass emergence of cicadas and it hasn't been seventeen years since I've seen it. And that's because like they're they're on these different cycles. So this is not it's not that this event only happens every seventeen years. This brewed X is only gonna happen every seventeen years because their population is on this schedule. But there are gonna be other staggered populations of cicadas that are on

different schedules. So we see these mass brewed emergence events every few years, and so it's yeah, so if you're like, oh, I'm gonna miss this mass brewed emergence, don't panic. There will be another one and you won't have to wait seventeen years. But if you want to see this specific brute event, yeah, will have to wait another seventeen years. Um.

There's enough cicadas for everyone, don't mari. Speaking of which, actually, apparently I read that cicada's tastes like canned asparagus, which I don't know what, like the like vin di diagram of like people who have eaten canned asparagus and people who have eaten cicadas. Who has both eaten canned asparagus yuck and cicadas, Like people have eaten both of them.

That they're like, oh, yeah, this is like the can asparagus that I eat, Like what, yeah, I mean, like an asparagus is like a very specific thing anyway, Like I think asparagus is Okay, It's not my favorite. My sister loves and she cooks it a lot, and you know, sometimes I'll eat it if she cooks it, but but yeah, but I've never had it, can't And that sounds know. No, I'm like you, like, I'll have like roasted asparus. I don't love it. It's a little too fibrous for me. Yeah,

also making your pee smell weird. I'm not yeah, but like, but but I couldn't like eating something about canics asparagus just does not appeal to me at all. But then it's like, who is eating Like, well, actually, you know what, I guess it makes sense. The kind of person who would regularly eat canned asparagus probably what eat is a cana just out of curiosity. They already eating eating weird stuff,

so yeah, right, why not? Yeah, it's like what, look, once you've stooped to the level of eating candid sparagus, so why not just try I'm thinking, is it like army rations or something? Because because or like survivalists, because survivalist because that seems like like the kind of people who would do it. They'll be like, yeah, we eat bugs, We've also eaten you know, these can vegetables. Yeah, of

course bugs are going to be the meat of the future. Yeah, which I mean, like, yes, it grosses me out to think about, Like I I it both I both am like, oh, this's actually like a really good idea to like make cricket flower or something like that, because it's more readily available and it's you know, probably eat safer and maybe even than probably more humane than like factory farming and such.

But but also like the idea gross. No, I'm with you, Like, I'm like, yeah, no, we should be probably eating more insects. That would be more yeah, ecologically good for the planet. Uh but yeah gross icky No, Yeah, I'm like I I and I think it's entirely cultural. I don't think

there's any real logic to it. There are places where people do eat insects and like it's totally normal and fine, and they probably like, look there, they probably look at our food like they probably look at like a Carl's Jr. Like burger and be like what the hell? Yeah exactly, And I feel like there's yeah, and and people, and

you can survive pretty well off of that. Yeah, but there's a Yeah, there's a guy that was accidentally got stranded I think somewhere in Australia, like in the desert brush area, and he survived by eating witchety grubs, which are these big like sort of you know how on the Lion King there's a scene where they like teach them about to eat big grubs. Is they're huge grubs and they just look not super appealing to eat. But

people have been eating like for centuries. Uh, people have been eating um, the witchty grubs as as a part of like their diet, and they're they're perfectly good to eat. And this guy survived by eating them. Uh And yeah, I just it's it's totally cultural that we've we've been brainwashed to reject insects as food, but somehow be okay with factory farming, which is a little messed up. Yeah, which is which is even grosser, right, yes, way gross. I think like I don't like eating Like I I

eat meat. Sometimes I don't eat a lot of meat, but like, but like when I do, like, I don't like, I don't think I would like to eat a cricket if it looked like a cricket, Yeah could, But I also don't like to eat meat that looks like the animal that it is. Like I I feel like, yeah, and I feel like for me, that's a psychological thing, you know, I'm kind of the opposite. I almost like want to know I'm just eating a I feel like if it's if you're like, this cookie was made out

of ground up crickets. I feel like here, I've roasted this cricket and it's like prepared it, and you know, I'm like, Okay, at least this is being honest with me. What it's true. I wouldn't want to be tricked into eating it or anything. Yeah, I think I would rather Also, I think i'd rather eat a prepared bug than I would to eat candasparagus. Absolutely, I'm not eating candasparagus. Yeah. I can't canned know or canned mushrooms too. I'd rather

eat a freshly prepared insect um. In terms of the cicada, the cicada brewdex, like, should we be concerned about this? Like are you in imminent danger of having your face covered in cicadas and then like you know, skeletonizing. You know, Uh, cicadas are harmless to humans. They don't sting or bite. They are allowed. So if you live near where this is happening, you might have some tough nights. But uh,

you know they're not they they don't hurt humans. They also don't hurt the Uh, they don't really hurt the trees or crops or anything. They're not like locusts. They don't destroy crops. Uh. They will suck the juice out of tree twigs, which also doesn't really hurt the trees that much. Like it seems actually to just kind of like prune the trees. They don't really do lasting damage to the trees. There are even some arguments with that. Because they burst out these holes, it helps aerate the

soil and it's actually good for the trees. I feel like it's probably a net neutral because they do suck some of the juices out of the roots, and when they lay their eggs, they actually like kind of cut into the tree a little bit to like stuff the eggs in, so they're secure there. So I think it's it's probably just a neutral effect on the trees. Um but I have seen some arguments that it's actually beneficial,

so so maybe. But either way, they're not harmful, So just enjoy the big Cicada party that happens only once every seventeen years. They're kind of the musical theater kids of the insect world, which I mean I relate to as a musical theater kid. They're they're really annoying, but they're harmless. Yeah exactly. Yeah, don't don't like, don't hate

on them too much. Just let them do their thing, you know, like like, you know, you can find them annoying, but they're just you know, yeah, they might be costs playing as vampires, but it's exactly like tomato juice. So they just want to hook up at the cast party, you know, they just want to hook up at the cast party. So so let them have their little their party full of you know, massage trains and and you go back underground soon enough. Yeah, exactly, exactly. They'll they'll

grow out of it, you know, just as theater kids. Yeah, kind of kind of grow out of the Yeah, that's that's what they are. Cicadas with the theater kids. Yeah, I'm sure theater kids are going to be okay with that. Yeah, I'm okay with it, and I'm a theater kid. So exactly. You're the president of Peter Kids. God am I I might be. So we've talked about cicadas and their mass brooding events, but they are not the only animal that does this mare. Are you familiar with sea turtle mass

hatching events? No, I'm not, but please tell me because I love turtles. Yes, So thousands of female sea turtles have this uncanny ability to emerge from the ocean all at once to lay their eggs at specific beaches. So there are all of Ridley sea turtles are one such species who will emerge by the thousands to lay their eggs at select beaches, like UH there's a beach called Osteon all in Costa Rica, and they seem to specific thickly select particular beaches to all come and lay their

eggs on mass. And because they're all coming at the same time to lay their eggs, that means the eggs will all hatch around the same time as well. And so when these eggs hatch, they'll come out because like they bury them in the sand and they they have each one has a clutch of UH I think a couple of dozen eggs, and then they'll all come out at the same time, and the hatchlings will instinctively go towards the ocean UH possibly guided by light reflecting off

of the water. UH. Some of them like they'll come out during night and like the moonlight reflecting off the water seems to be a beacon for them. These UH turtles, even though there are so many of them, actually surprisingly few will reach adulthood because they're small and delicious, like little like little cinnamon buns. Uh, and so like there are lots of scab injers and predators who wait for

these events. They know what's happening, and these are very tasty treats for them because they're so defenseless and there they don't they can't move that quickly, so when they emerge, they have this very dangerous trek to the ocean. And so having this mass hatching event again gives you safety in numbers like you are, you know, you may not make it to the ocean, but like you're much have a much better chance if you're one of like thousands

and thousands of individuals. Then if it's just you coming out and then like a seagull is going to immediately see you and just snatch you up. So yeah, these these mass turtle hatchings, they happen all over the world. Um, but like often these populations of sea turtles prefer specific beaches, so they're often these events that that people wait for these turtles to hatch and and watch them or like sometimes yeah, yeah, it's it's quite something. I mean, the

babies are so cute. It's hard though, because like you know, a lot of them aren't going to make it so and you can't you shouldn't interfere. Sometimes there are rescue groups that will like, uh kind of try to help protect them from like poaching and stuff. So but yeah, I mean it is. It is quite something though. So you know, watching a video of just like thousands of these turtles just like kind of like ambling because they

can't move very well. Uh, they just kind of like use their little flippers to like kind of push themselves forward, and it's just like, yeah, I like the little patterns that they leave in the ground. I'm looking at the little patterns they leave in it. It does look like they're just moving forward, very very slowly, just finishing. It's very cute. I mean they're hustling. You can tell they're hustling as fast as they can. Unfortunately that's just not

very fast. But yeah, they they really they really try to gun it to the ocean, but they can they can only move so fast because they're these little tiny, little tiny like sand dollars size things, and they Yeah, it's but yeah, you're right, the patterns they leave behind are quite beautiful. But you may have heard of these sea turtle mass hatchings, but there are also mass river

turtle hatchings. Yeah, in the Amazon rainforest. So in Brazil, on the Purus River in the Amazon Rainforest, tens of thousands of baby array turtles, also known as the giant South American river turtles will hatch and make their way to the river. So, similar to the sea turtles, they're

buried in the sand, which keeps the eggs safe. Right, So if you're wondering, well, why don't they just lay them in the ocean or in the river, the eggs are going to be just sitting ducks or sitting eggs for anything to eat, So burying them in the sand keeps them safe. Uh. And so once they hatch, that is when the real trouble starts. So they say giant,

How how giant are they? Yeah? So as adults, the babies are small, obviously cute little babies, but as adults they get up to about two hundred pounds or weight. Those are the larger I think on average they don't reach that way, but like those are some of the larger individuals, and their shells can grow to be over three ft longer, over one ms long, So I think typically they're a little smaller, so more around like a hundred two hundred fifty pounds um and a little smaller shells,

but they can get quite big. They're also, I think as adults, very cute. They have these long necks, and they have these little piggy noses, like little little piggy snouts. And then they also often like algae will grow on their shells, so that I think they're really cool. Sometimes they get like these mohawks of algae growing on them. Um, They're they're really interesting looking, very cool. Uh. And then the babies are adorable, but they face a very unfortunate odds.

So in a protected area of the Parus River, these turtles will hatch on mass. So in nine thousand baby turtles hatch just within a few days of each other. And if you think that's gonna look like a huge pile of baby turtles, that is what it looks like. So unfortunately, even though there's just so many of them, you think like, well, god, there must be like huge numbers of these turtles. Unfortunately, only about one percent of them will reach adulthood. So it truly is just a

law of large numbers. Like you want to make as many babies as you can because their odds are so slim, and you just want to make sure that some of them will make it to adulthood. What are their what are their predators? Do you know? Yeah, for the sea turtles, there are a lot of like birds are a big one, but they're also plenty of small sharks like in the

ocean that are really good predators. What about the river ones and the river ones again, I mean, there are a lot of avenging birds that freshwater birds that will pray for them, and then um, I'm pretty sure. I mean there are a lot of big fish in these rivers that are would be happy enough to eat them. There's also otters, river arters I believe that live in the area. River otters are scary, like I like, I

like otters, but river otters are scary. They're they're they're serious, they're serious like you do you think of the cute little sea otters. No, river arters are huge. They're like almost as tall, like as an adult man, and they they're long, they have huge teeth. They can take on crocodiles. They can like literally take on gators and crocodiles and hold their own so they're serious business. But yeah, so that that is perhaps one of the cutest mass spawnings.

But in terms of the biggest mass spawning, you have to go to the Great Barrier Reef. Great Barrier Reef is home to the largest mass spawning events in the world of coral. So, I know, coral looks like a plant or a rock, but they are living animals, which is mind blowing. They just don't they don't look like they should be alive. They look like, you know, they

look like set dressing. Yeah, my my grandmother had a coral ring and it's weird to me now because I'm like, that's almost like that's like closer to fur than it is to like, you know, skeletons. Yeah, exactly, and it was a very pretty ring. But I think about it now and I'm like, oh, so weird that that was alive once. Yes, yes, and so coral are very much alive. They are nidarians, which is the same phylum as jellyfish and see an enemies. So yeah, they're actually related to

jellyfish and see enemies. They are often colonials, so that means they form these huge groups of many individual polyps. So polyp is like just like one individual like you see if you see a big branching thing of coral, chances are there like thousands of individual polyps or hundreds of individual polyps like on this piece of coral um. So a polyp generally speaking for coral is like a sort of oval structure. For some coral they look more

like sort of a long flower with a stem. Some of them are more squat, some of them look sort of like a flower bulb. Some of them look more like pine cone shaped. But it's this is a living it's got it's a living animal with like living tissue, and it eats. They'll they'll filter feed and they like will come out of this um. These corals and like, uh, you know, use use their flowering organs to like catch prey and and filter feed and just whatever is floating around.

So colonial polyps will often share sort of a base either formed by fibrous proteins or calcified materials, uh, and so that will form these big beautiful structures that you see in the barrier reef. There are two main types of coral. There are soft corals and stony corals. Soft coral you may not even realize their coral because they look they don't look hard. They are visibly soft. They look sort of like a bunch of sea an enemy's

or flowers. Is that this? Oh yeah, you have a picture of yellow ones and yeah, they look like they look like those bottlebrush tree you know of things. Yeah, they look like spiny, but they look soft. Yes, yes, they they are. They are softer. They don't generally have that like hard calcified skeletal structure. They're held together by jelly like tissues and they but they also do have some spiny structures that will support them. I was gonna say,

do they feel soft to touch? Yeah, so part of them would feel soft to touch, but the part of them that is the sort of like bass that's holding them together is going to be a little more firm, sort of like spiny, like like tree branches. But yeah, like the definitely the polyps themselves is going to be softer, but hard. Coral is and a feel hard, so that the stony coral uh is the stuff that you probably think of when you think of coral. They look like mineral,

more like a mineral than an animal. But they are alive. So there are a bunch of tiny polyps on stony coral skeletal structures, and like these polyps are, they're less sort of like flowery looking than soft corals. They're more a little more conical shaped, and they give like these

stony uh corals, a sort of harder, more rocky appearance. Uh. And because often like these, these polyps are very tiny, only like one to three millimeters, you can barely see each individual just looks like this rocky texture on like this coral doesn't look like there's a bunch of individuals. But if you zoom in, those little little bumps are actually like living polyps um. And if you ever I have a visual aid for Mara here, you guys can check out the show notes and and see pictures of this.

But I actually found because I, like I mentioned, I'm actually at my my parents house right now, and I found this in the bathroom as a decoration. It's actually a um a coral skeleton. So this is uh the uh. This is a stony coral, and this is the calcified hard base of the skeleton that would home a bunch of little polyps. And I'm going to hold it up so you can see each of these little like they

look like little holes or little divid's. I don't know how much detail you can get from the it has like little stars on it, Like I'm not little stars right, because that the little time like that was home to each of these polyps that had this like radial sort of branching structure. So each of those little like like feathery kind of star structures is where that that little polyp would have grown and have that like radial symmetry like a c an enemy or like a jellyfish um.

But it was like a little indovid jewel. And of course all that's left now is the hard calcified structure or the skeleton. So if you have decorative coral um, that is a skeleton that you have basically. Yeah, I think we used to have. I like because when you when I as soon as I saw that, I was like, that looks familiar. And I feel like we might have had that in my bathroom when we were little, or like it's a common bathroom decade or like like on in like a little display on top of the the back,

when we had like you had like the TV cabinet. Yeah, I feel like we had we had like we had like potpourri on one part of it, and we had but we had like pretty rocks and coral on there too, or maybe like my grandparents had it. Yeah, I feel like that was that was a very kind of seventies eighties decorations exactly. Yeah. Yeah, And so it was kind of neat because I was like thinking about this episode and like and I was just like, you know, doing my business in the bathroom. We don't need to go

in detail there. But I saw this like on a shelf and it's like, oh, hey, yeah, that's what I'm talking about today. Yeah. Yeah. So, because corals are often huge colonies with hundreds of thousands of individual polyps, and the Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's largest coral systems, with over six hundred distinct coral species. There are millions and millions of individual polyps in the Great

Barrier Reef. By my rough calculation, when it is a coral species time to spawn, it gets buck wild in the ocean. So coral are sessile, which is just a way of saying their immobile. They spend their whole time just kind of staying still. Uh, you know, just like we've been on quarantine, we've been sessile. On our couches, and so having sex is a problem because how do you have sex and reproduce when you can't really move.

So they will release sperm and egg packets into the water, and once if these sperm and egg packets just happen to bonk into each other, they will fertilize and form an embryo. So in order to match maximize the chance of successful fertilization, they have to synchronize because like if you just like send out your egg or your sperm packet and then it's like nobody else is doing it, maybe one person like way far away is doing it, the chances are going to bonk into each other, it's

like pretty minimal. If everyone's doing it. It's a blizzard of sperm and egg packets, and the chance that you're gonna bunk into something and get it fertilized is very high. And so that's what they do. It's this blizzard of coral sperm and eggs, and it's super colorful, so uh like coral, very pretty, very colorful, and so you wouldn't even guess that it's such a such dirty business going on here because it comes in these colors of like yellows and pinks. Uh, and it's like this flurry. Uh.

It looks like a magical enchanted blizzard. But you know that's ah, it's coral sex junk happen. Yeah, there's a photo that that I'm looking at here where there's like there's like coral spawning and it looks like like it's like really beautiful. You could put it up as like a photograph like in your home as ascoration. And then there's another one and there's a diver in the middle of it and he looks a little like, Okay, what did I get in the middle of here? Oh? Goh

you guys. Gross, guys, just come one. Yeah. It's like it's like a snow globe, Like you turn in the snow globe and you see all these like big sort of like things of snow, except like it's pink and yellow and it's you know, coral sex gou Once they fertilized, this will create new coral polyps. You can actually look like there's an aerial photo too, like that shows these um like mass coral embryos that creates like this pink film on the ocean and look like someone just like

spilled a bunch of pink ink. It's beautiful. Uh, it's just but it also like shows you the scale of this event. It's just huge, huge number of who any coral just making babies? And how often does this happen? I think this is a yearly event. I'm not sure if like every species does it every year, but they they like that's staggered enough that this happens relatively often. So,

uh should we be worried about this? Uh? Not really, I mean unless you are a fish in a lagoon during an unfortunately timed weather storm that causes coral sex goop to rain down in your home and literally suffocate you. But actually happened nine years ago in a lagoon in an atoll in the Cocoas Island in the Indian Ocean. A fluke storm blew a bunch of coral spawn into a lagoon system, which consumed oxygen, and then the decaying coral uh polyps released methane, which made the water unbreathable

by the fish, who suffocated and died on mass. So sometimes, hey, coral sex does kill. Yeah, it's that's like getting caught up in like somebody else's drama. Oh jeez. Yeah, So like it shows you a text like between them and someone they're seeing, and it's like they expect you to resolve the drama. It's like, no, I'm not going to be a fish in your coral right. It's a great way to tell them now I'm fishing your coral sex lagoon. Okay, don't know what you mean, You don't don't know they should.

If they don't, you don't want to be their friend anyway, right, exactly exactly. I mean like if they're if they're making you be a fish and they're coral sex again, that's to get out of there. Got those toxic ties. Well, I think we've covered probably as many mass spawning events as I can tolerate in one episode. Um, but yeah, it's it's a it's like it's the beautiful cycle of

life which sometimes happens in by the millions. But before we go, I do want to do a listener email that was in response to the last week's episode, which is about bunnies. Mark, you missed the bunnies by one by one week, so instead you had the mass cicada sex episode. I I mean, it's it's still interesting to me. And I got turtles, which I like so that's true. That's true too massive baby turtles. A lot of them are gonna die. But hey, it's but they're cute while

they last. Yeah, it's it's an ephemeral thing. Yeah, you know, Yeah, enjoy enjoy the turtles every moment. Don't think about the turtles of the future. Think about the baby turtles of the now. Yeah, it's it's like the those those you know, what are those like the mandala's that they'll make in sand? Yeah, think about think about the beautiful patterns that the turtles making sand and shark and yeah, yeah, yeah, that's that's you know, so it goes. Yeah, well, here is this

very nice, not deadly email. Hi Katie. I'm a longtime listener and I really enjoyed your lagomorph episode. I am a bunny owner and an ecologist and really appreciated the love you give to these underappreciated fluff balls. I just wanted to tell you a few cool things that I've learned about pet domestic rabbits. First, they can be letterbox trained fairly easily and successfully, especially if they're spade or newter. I think in the show I threw a little bit

of shade at bunnies. I said that you can try to litter box train them, but I think it's sort of on whether they want, whether they feel like it or not. But apparently it's uh like maya copa. Apparently bunnies will fairly readily poop in a litter box. They seem very stubborn domestic. Every domestic bunny I've met has has been like, I have a mind of mind. Like

people think cats are hard to control. Bunnies, yeah, yeah, oh but yeah, but it's a whole new like cats are sort of like a little bit, but they're they're coy and playful about it, where they're like, oh maybe will I won't I, But they do. They do love you and they like bunnies. They're like, no, no, you think you're going to get me to do something, I'll kick you in the face and pee on you. Exact

happen to me exactly. Although all the listener does admit that there will be an occasional misplaced bunny poop, so hey um. She writes that the secret is to put hay in or next to the litter box so they can eat while they poop or pete Luxury luxurious living um once litter trained, the bunnies can roam in an area of the house freely after some bunny proofing. The House Rabbit Society has lots of information on how to do this. I also just wanted to mention a few

other super cute bunny behaviors. When they are very excited, bunnies will do a jump and a shake their bodies midair, which is called a binky. And when they are very relaxed, they will dramatically flop over on their side. Wow, that so cute. I actually had a cat named Binky, and he was He was pretty rabbit like because he was very scared. He never killed anything and would run away.

And one time, this is in high school, and I came home and I was, you know, frustrated with school, so I dropped my books on the floor and across the room. I didn't realize the cat was there, and so he jumped like a like three meters into the areas. It's so funny, poor thing. Um. And then then the listeners shared some beautiful pictures of the bunnies which are

just for me. So sorry about that. But oh and then and then she writes, I also especially appreciated your b episode I did my master's degree studying native bees in Ontario, so I appreciate it when b species other than honey bees get to mention. Uh, and this is from Emma. Thank you so much, Emma for your kind words and for your bunny facts. So I take it back.

Bunnies can be litter box trained, but again, hey, look when they want to, like if they there may be a poop once in a while, and you're just gonna have to deal with it, right. Don't pretend like you can control the bunnies. No, you can't control a bunny. You can't control the bunnies. No, No, they are they're

the strong back legs. They can they can slap you. Yeah. My, I have a friend who has bunnies, and she says that they they when they're piste off at you, they'll turn their back on you and kick with their back legs. They'll kick, yes that you, Yeah, which which I love you is. I love that about them. It's just like I love you bunnies for for being for being like

the hey, screw you with your back legs. Yeah, I mean, I like that they stand up for themselves because like we have the sense of like, oh, they're just a little floppy bunnies. They don't. They're helpless rabbits. Yeah, yeah, no, I mean it's more like the Peter Rabbit level of like defiance. They Yeah, my sister was bitten by a bunny once. Yeah. Yeah, they got strong teeth, they do. Yeah. She said she had to get a technis shot after Yeah,

because oh yeah, because their teeth are so long. Yeah. Wow. She said the shot hurt more than the bite, but it was still very very strange. But I mean basically the bunny is responsible for the shot too, exactly. Insult and injury to injury. Yeah, yeah, no, bunny is a serious but no, Like, I know, buddies are cute. I don't necessarily discourage having bunnies as a pet, but if you want one, definitely look into it, because I would say they are one of the harder pet Like they're

harder than a cat or a dog. I would say, so, yeah, just just check it out because because there's a lot of special care you have to do. Uh My, I had a friend who had a bunny and again, like I would pet it and then when it wanted me to stop, it would kick me and pee on me like it was a male, and I think they like to flick your in so so he would kick me in flick your on me, And I was like, you know, I think I'll stick with cats and dogs. Yeah, you

can predict they're they're more predictive. I only sometimes get kicked by my dog, and that's usually honest. Yeah, my my cat will will you know, they'll go or maybe they'll hit me or bite me. Lately, if I'm annoying them, I'm like, okay, all right, we'll stop petting you. Yeah, my my dog loves belly rubs. But like once, it's like she's got a very specific you have to pet her very specifically, and if you stopped like she she

looks so sweet and angelic. But then if you pet her wrong, like suddenly the little Chihuahua demon face comes into play and it's oh my god, She's like, it's really funny. Satan takes over. Yeah. Well, Mara, thank you so so much for joining me. It's truly been a pleasure to have you on. Big thank you, big fan of you, big fan of your your Twitter and your articles, and so I am you know, trying to keep the

fan girling to a minute. No, I mean I love your stuff, and I feel like and I love learning about things that that I don't know a lot about. So this is really cool to me. This is really fascinating. I'm so glad that you could learn about. And I'm sorry about all the about all the coral perversion. It's it's fine, it's fine. I'll give them their space. You know,

I'm not going to kink shame them. I mean if they if if you're like in a lagoon and they foist their kink upon you in the look, that's all bloma. It's problematic. You were wandering into their space. Yes, but that was like that. I just there's like a freak storm that dispensed all of this coral sex goo on these poor fish. It's like it's like the like a disaster movie, except a lot of core coral eggs and sperm. Attack of the killer coral, attack of the killer coral

coral babies attack. Sounds like there might be a plane, Yeah there is? Or is it a storm of coral stuff. We've angered the coral We angered the corals. Yeah, now there's just gonna be a cyclone of like coral sperm. Sorry. Yeah, Well, well, thank you again for coming on where can people find you? Thanks? They can find me at Marra Wilson on Instagram and Twitter. I also have a cameo. I I do videos where I will talk about you know anything, my cats or

cookie recipes or cicadas and what I know. Yeah, and those are really fun to make. I have a newsletter at Mara dot subs dot dot com called We Tell the Vicar because I come up with names for fake British TV shows them every time. I don't want to put you on the spot, but can you can you? I can? I can? Yeah, I can. There's I'm just here to do the hoovering. There's that one the mission

quigly bubble and squeak. Uh you know that's perfect. Yeah, it's it's and and and sometimes it's kind of hard to tell which ones are real and which ones are Yeah, no, I would believe it. If it's like like I'm just here to do the hoovering, I would totally think it was one the real one. That's great, And you can find the show on the internet at Creature feature Pot on Instagram, at Creature feet Pot on Twitter. That's f

e a T not teeth is something very different. You can also send me an email at Creature feature Pod at gmail dot com with all your questions, bunny pictures, choral questions. If you have a problem with Cicada's making loud sex noises, just let me know send me an email. Uh and I'm Katie Golden. You can find me at Katie Golden on Twitter, where I just post all my Katie thoughts um and as always I'm also pro bored rights um or as pro bird writes me and my

birds will find out on Twitter. Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed the show and you leave me a rating and review, I will read it and it will make my day. I'll be floating on Cloud nine all day long when you leave nice reviews. I really appreciate them. And thanks to the Space Classics for their super awesome song Exo Lumina. Creature features a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts like the one you just heard, visit her radio app app podcast or

Hey guess what you listen to your favorite shows. I don't judge even if you're listening it in like a coral sex lagoon. That's fine. I'm not here to judge. You just here to provide you with entertainment. See you next Wednesday, m