Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

word of the day: predatory satiation

A story in today’s Washington Post warns of the upcoming once-every-17-years cicada mating season, anticipated to begin within the next few weeks. Near the end of the article, the reporter writes about the insects’ defense mechanism: “predatory satiation” — a kind of “safety in numbers.” Sort of. (“In D.C. Area, It’s the Day Of the Cicada” - 03/28/04)

Some insects are endowed with elaborate defense mechanisms — such as moths, whose bodies course with toxins — that ensure they are left pretty well alone. Not periodical cicadas. There are simply too many of them to be wiped out by predators. Their sheer volume is a survival tactic scientists call “predatory satiation.”

“Absolutely everything that can stuff them into their mouths will try to feed on cicadas,” says John Cooley, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Connecticut who studies periodicals. “Dogs and cats tend to eat more than they should, so they can get horribly constipated,” he adds. “The exoskeletons are hard to digest.”

As for the cicadas, says Zyla, the amateur naturalist in Ridge, “they’re hoping that all of the predators eat enough and get full so at least some of them are going to breed. It works.”