(Photo by Yasin Ãztürk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Dogs and cats may find the cicadas that are making their appearance this year as a novelty treat, but are the bugs dangerous for your pets?

Experts say that depends on how many of them they eat.  One or two occassionaly is probably not going to cause any problems, but if they munch on a lot of the creatures, it could cause problems.

“Rarely, ingestion can cause possible allergic reactions which would present as facial swelling, diffuse body hives and itching and if more severe of a reaction, fever, vomiting and diarrhea,” according to Dr. Nita Vasudevan of Peachtree Creek Animal Hospital in Georgia

The American Kennel Club offered similar guidance in a recent blog post. Although a couple of cicadas probably won’t do much harm, AKC Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Jerry Klein warned that “dogs that gorge on the large, crunchy insects will find the exoskeleton difficult to digest and can suffer serious consequences.”

You can read more from Georgia Public Broadcasting HERE