Brood X cicadas are coming in a few short weeks.
It's been 17 years since they showed their faces and in May – once the ground hits 64 degrees – billions of cicadas will start to emerge across the eastern U.S. and Greater Cincinnati.
"We don't know when the pandemic is going to end but I can tell you, cicadas are coming. That's one of the nice things about them. There is a sense of normalcy, there's predictability. There's something calming about that," said Gene Kritsky, a leading cicada expert and entomologist at Mount St. Joseph University.
It's going to be a cicada-filled summer. Greater Cincinnati will get two batches of the bothersome bugs — our regular dog days of summer cicadas and Brood X.
Brood X is coming: Billions of cicadas set to swarm the U.S. in just a few weeks
First, let's get the name right
This batch is called the Brood X, as in Brood 10.
Periodical cicada broods are numbered, but we agree that Brood "X" sounds much cooler. The next batch of periodical cicadas that will emerge in Cincinnati is Brood XIV, or 14, which will hatch in 2025.
When are the cicadas coming?
Kritsky says Greater Cincinnati typically sees emergence in mid-May after two days in a row with temperatures above 80 degrees and there's been a "soaking rain."
"For the past couple of years, it's been the second day that our temperatures have reached the low 80s," Kritsky said.
We'll see Brood X first in Anderson Township, Kritsky said.
In addition to those early risers, areas that get heavy sun will heat up faster than others, so keep an eye out.
The early risers depend on local conditions: Look for areas under a tree without a heavy canopy that is facing the southeast so it warms up quickly.
To learn more about when cicadas might arrive, here's a handy equation.
How many cicadas are we talking about?
“Periodical cicadas survive by coming out in massive numbers,” Kritsky said. “We’re talking about 350 per square yard in parts of Delhi.”
That number came from one cemetery in Delhi Township, under one tree. Add up all the trees in a cemetery and you could have thousands of cicadas.
Compared to our annual cicadas, which have a density of about 2 per square, periodical cicadas are measured at 200 per square yard.
"Unlike annual cicadas, periodicals cicadas come out in massive numbers to overwhelm their predators. So predators can eat all they want and there are still millions of cicadas left," Kritsky said.
All neighborhoods on the west side and especially along the I-75 corridor will see plenty of cicadas, but areas on the east side will have less. Why? They are home to Brood 14 cicadas, which will emerge in 2025.
Also, if you didn’t get cicadas in 2004, that doesn’t mean you won’t get them this time around – especially if your development was newer in 2004.
What good are cicadas?
Other than being just a nuisance to the general public, cicadas are good for the environment.
“The purpose of all life is just to reproduce. And as these insects are reproducing, they create situations that are good for the eastern deciduous forest," Kritsky said.
Their holes provide natural aeration for our clay-heavy soil; the damage caused by females laying eggs (called flagging) is a natural pruning for trees; they provided a "food pulse" for predators, which can cause population spikes; and their decomposition is a "nutrient cache" for plants.
Cicada Brood X and your yard:Much more benefit than harm
Once they emerge, then what?
The billions of cicadas won't cause too many problems, but they will be extremely loud during the day, especially in areas with many trees.
Some cicadas might even follow your lawnmower because the frequency is similar to the sounds cicadas make.
If the big bugs freak you out, Kritsky advises people to drive with their windows up, because they will fly into your car. He said cicadas caused crashes back in 2004.
Five days after the cicadas emerge, they’ll start singing or screaming to attract a mate.
Male cicadas gather in trees, “screaming away” and when you hear a lull in the sound, that means a male has attracted a female.
“It’s just like one giant cicada singles bar,” Kritsky said.
Females will lay eggs in the new growth branches of the trees, which can cause damage to younger trees.
“Add all those carcasses, nice June rain and hot temperatures? They’ll stink.” Kritsky said.
By late July the eggs will hatch. The nymphs will crawl out of the tree branches and fling themselves to the ground and burrow down.
By New Year's Day, the cicadas will be 10 to 12 inches deep in the ground, waiting 17 years to come back out.
How can you protect yourself from cicadas
A local company wants to offer you your personal shelter from the swarm.
Based in Cincinnati's Linwood neighborhood, Under the Weather is selling a WalkingPod Mesh with Bug-Screens that fits over the head and torso. The company, which makes pop-up protective gear, typically sells small tent-like equipment for camping events.
How loud do cicadas get?
Male cicadas contract ridged membranes on their abdomens to make the sound, which is amplified by their almost-hollow abdomens. Each species has its own sound, and the chorus can reach 90 to 100 decibels – as loud as a lawn mower, CicadaMania said.
Are cicadas and locusts the same thing?
No, they are different species of insects. Locusts belong to the same family of insects as grasshoppers. Locusts are far more destructive, as they feed on a variety of plant life. Large swarms of locusts can cause severe damage to croplands. Cicadas don't cause the same level of destruction as locusts. Although large swarms of cicadas can damage young trees as they lay their eggs in branches, larger trees can usually withstand the cicadas.
Do cicadas bite or sting?
No. Cicadas aren't equipped to sting like bees or wasps. They do have prickly feet that could prick your skin if held.
In what states will cicadas be emerging in 2021?
Brood X is one of the largest and most broadly distributed groups of periodical cicadas. They can be found from northern Georgia to New York, west to the Mississippi River and in the Midwest. There can be as many as 1.5 million cicadas per acre, which brings the brood population into the trillions.
[ Want more cicada content? Get a digital subscription for unlimited access to Cincinnati.com. ]
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
Source link
