James Hepler News Today

A long-standing query about periodical cicadas has been answered: Once periodical cicadas emerge, do they actually feed on vegetation?

<p>A long-standing query about periodical cicadas that emerge every 13 or 17 years was recently answered by a team at USDA Agricultural Research Service: Once periodical cicadas emerge, do they actually feed on vegetation? Their analysis of cicadas' gut contents found plant DNA in mature adult cicadas but none in freshly emerged adults, a strong sign that adult cicadas do feed on plants, since no plant matter in cicadas' guts carries over from their nymph stage.&lt...

The lack of obvious chewing mouthparts may have made casual observers think that adult cicadas don’t need to feed. But that’s not the case.

By the end of the High Holidays, the three-person team will have baked more than 2,000 loaves of challah, as well as hundreds of other customary pastries.

This year, Schuylkill County received federal funds to purchase development rights to owners of land deemed eligible to be enrolled in the Farmland Preservation program. Pennsylvania leads the nation ...