After hanging out underground for 17 years, a new brood of periodical cicadas has officially popped up in people’s backyards. This year, a group of cicadas known as Brood X is expected to appear in the District of Columbia and at least parts of these 15 states: Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Gene Kritsky, a periodical cicada expert and dean of Behavioral and Natural Sciences at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, told USA TODAY cicadas would emerge when soil temperatures reached 64 degrees. Kritsky predicted they’d arrive in late April or early May, which seems true for some Americans.
As this year’s batch of cicadas starts swarming parts of the country, USA TODAY is breaking down the latest updates and tips you need to know. Already people are posting photos and videos of cicada sightings in their backyards and homes. Dr. Beverly Howard photographed her twin granddaughters taking a closer look at a group of cicadas near her home in Burke, Virginia.
What are they?
This group of periodical cicadas, called Brood X, have been feeding on sap from the roots of plants underground for the last 17 years. After emerging, they will spend two to four weeks “courting, mating, flying, driving people crazy, being eaten by everything,” said Michael Raupp, emeritus professor of entomology at the University of Maryland.
The cicadas will lay their eggs, hatching 4 to 6 weeks later. Then their offspring will repeat the cycle and head back underground until 2038. While above ground for the next weeks, cicadas will be loud. Raupp said they can emit sounds between 80 and 100 decibels, equivalent to a low-flying airplane or a lawnmower.
What do we know about them?
Kritsky said when cicadas emerge from underground, they will appear white. Once they shed out their old skin and develop an exoskeleton, their yellow and black color will appear. As for the loud noises they make, males are the only ones who can create the noise. They do so when they’re calling for other females to mate. The intensity of the noises should decrease within two weeks, Kritsky said.
Female cicadas can hatch up to 500 eggs, Kritsky said. Once the mating process is over and eggs are hatched, the cicadas die, and their offspring will repeat the cycle. Although they don’t swarm in packs like bees, Kritsky said cicadas do congregate in the hundreds around trees.
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How can we track them?
Funded through Mount St. Joseph University, Kritsky created a crowdsourced app, Cicadas Safari, where people can send photos of the cicadas they find. The app is free, and Kritsky said once someone downloads an image, the app tracks the location to verify the latest cicada sightings.
Are they dangerous?
Kritsky said cicadas don’t sting or bite. If an animal or dog eats a few dozen cicadas, Kritsky said it would be okay. However, if they eat hundreds of cicadas in one sitting, the animal may experience bowel obstructions. “They’re just going to drink sap and mate. They won’t eat your plants or carry away small children,” Kritsky said.
What should I do if they’re in my yard?
“If you see a group of cicadas, you’ve got just to let cicadas be cicadas,” Kritsky said. The bugs don’t have pads to pick up pesticides like cockroaches do so that bug sprays won’t work, Kritsky said. He also mentioned cicadas wouldn’t affect anyone’s gardens or plants because they don’t chew on things.
They do drink sap from trees or stems. If you’d like to protect a small tree, Kritsky recommends wrapping it in a protective layer. If you’re still looking to protect your garden and plants, you can create a physical barrier around them. If your plants or bushes are damaged, you can revive them with extra water and mulch.
How to protect your garden:4 easy ways to protect your garden from the cicada masses
Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda
