Dad Serves Up Cicadas for a Family Treat

Watchung resident TJ Hayes read about the ways some people like to get a little more from annual cicada hatchings and thought he'd give it a try.

So he rounded up a few then sauteed them in butter and garlic and served them up to his family, including Rona, his wife; Jeremy, his son; and his daughter Rachel, who captured the family snacking on cicadas on video.

It was only the second time he's made them, and the family rated the bugs a solid "not bad"—although Hayes admits he overcooked them a bit.

"I stepped away," he said. "It's only about four minutes to cook them."

He chose the garlic-and-butter saute method after doing some online research of recipes, and when it was over Rachel said the cicadas tasted like... garlic and butter.

But will she try them again? Probably not.

"It's just the thought of what it is," she confessed.  

Hayes is ready to try again, but it may take more effort.

"It's harder around my house now because they're higher in the trees," he said, but added there are still plenty to harvest around the train station he uses to commute to work.

Hayes said the recipe is similar to one used for cooking shrimp, which makes sense as they actually look like shrimp when the wings are removed, and some — including an entomologist Hayes read about — call them the "shrimp of the insect world."