In Chinese astrology 2021 is the year of the Ox on the 12-year cycle that’s based on the lunar calendar. However, here in America, it’s the year of the cicadas whose 17-year hibernation ends over the next couple of weeks.
I’m talking about the “Brood X” cicadas who will be emerging from the ground in order to noisily mate and then die, with the next generation ready to return to the above-ground world again in 2038.
This year’s cycle will produce the largest brood of cicadas in all of the cycles, with literally trillions of the insects unearthing themselves this summer, showing up everywhere from the northeast to the deep south…and even on some of your favorite food.
An Ohio restaurant seems to have found a use for the Brood X cicadas pestering parts of the Midwest. The Pizza Bandit in Dayton tested out a Spicy Thai Cicada Pie. Yes, that’s a pizza with cicadas on it.
But the crunchy topping is a secret ingredient.
Before you get too excited — or repulsed — know that the restaurant is not selling cicada-topped pizzas. In a Facebook post showing off the new creation, the business noted, “We’re not even sure if we legally can sell you locally foraged Cicadas.” And while there likely won’t be too many restaurants adopting the idea, this pizza parlor did livestream a tasting panel of the unique pie featuring their employees.
The reactions varied, with some folks finding the pizza delicious, while others simply couldn’t handle the fact that they were eating the large, noisy bugs.
