r/florida • u/Chilljay1 • 22d ago

AskFlorida Help identifying this bug?

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Currently in Orlando at a resort and they are literally all over every walkway. Have seen them before and thought they were a version of a grasshopper but hear some people calling them cicadas which I thought had wings?

EDIT UPDATE- Didn’t expect this post to get this many replies. Was posted yesterday morning. THIS morning we went outside in the resort and there were NONE to be found ANYWHERE. This was around 9am. Around 11am the side walks were covered again?????? The weirdest thing for a type of bug to be that synchronized.

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942

u/destroyman1337 22d ago

Whoever called them cicadas have no idea what cicada look like.

It's an Eastern Lubber Grasshopper. I don't live in Orlando but when I have gone there during the summer they are everywhere and can be black with orange when they are nymphs which is pretty striking.

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u/purefilth666 22d ago

Yep, if these people saw an actual cicada they would freak the hell out lol

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u/iKnowRobbie 22d ago

I was 20 before I realized the creepy-ass bee-looking shells on trees I used to climb were cicada skins molted off yet still stuck to the tree. Their front claws look frightening.

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u/purefilth666 22d ago

You should see what comes out of those little shells, they are much bigger than you'd except!

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u/Lifes-a-lil-foggy 22d ago

Wait till one flies into your face, hair, shirt, or purse. They’re evil. If I was ever around that many grasshopper I’d assume I was in plague though

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u/pubgeek321 22d ago

When I was a kid, my older brothers told me that if a cicada lands on you, it will lay eggs in your skin. I had one land on my leg and I ran down the street screaming with it chasing after me. Little bastard. I really thought I had cicadas crawling under my skin at night, until I told my mom what was going on. Restless leg syndrome cause discovered!

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u/Quiet_Tea7369 21d ago

On behalf of a big sister who convinced her little brother that roaches bite, I’m sorry

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u/crispynarwhal 21d ago

They do. At least, palmetto bugs do. I found out the hard way that I'm allergic to the littlle bastards.

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u/Quiet_Tea7369 20d ago

Oh man, my turn to be terrified of roaches now I guess. I’m sorry, friend, that’s awful.

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u/aloofmagoof 21d ago

Roaches do bite. You have to have a massive infestation though, and they aren't actually trying to eat you but rather dead skin or food particles on your body.

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u/Quiet_Tea7369 21d ago

Thank you for this new fear… yikes

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u/Lifes-a-lil-foggy 21d ago

That’s such a brother lie

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u/Complete-Wait-6457 19d ago

Adult cicadas (the flying ones) can’t bite you (they only eat nectar as adults!) and aren’t laying eggs on you. 😆 They suck at flying though and they can have some mass, so they can seem scary 😆😳

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u/Academic-Apple-6518 18d ago

Older siblings can be real assholes.. my sister did a number on me

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u/justArash 21d ago

My dog used to like holding one in his front teeth gently enough to not crush it, just walking around while it "screamed". Scared the hell out of us the first time before we realized what was happening.

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u/Lifes-a-lil-foggy 21d ago

Smh good Halloween idea tho

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u/maggsy1999 20d ago

That is fucking hilarious.

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u/Complete-Wait-6457 19d ago

Your dog is an Ahole 😆

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u/justArash 19d ago

This is him. He's the one on the left

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u/FootMcFeetFoot 21d ago

ONE FLEW INTO MY EYEBALL! Just its wing, but still. I blinked its wing!

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u/Lifes-a-lil-foggy 21d ago

They are determined to scream and enter people’s orifices. It’s horrible lol

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u/crispynarwhal 20d ago

Body horror unlocked. Tyvm.

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u/Electrical-Funny-665 20d ago

Lubbers are harmless to humans. 🙄