The Cicadas are Coming! | E-Neighborhood Advisor

 

Parts of the country are experiencing a “cicada storm” this summer. Billions, yes billions, of Brood X cicadas are going to emerge in the eastern United States after 17 years underground. Here are amazing facts about cicadas from Smithsonian magazine: Cicadas are chunky, noisy insects with bright red eyes, so if they’re emerging in your area you can expect to be well aware of them. The raucous four to six-week-long event rages until all the participants die and litter the forest floor. When the soil about eight inches below the surface reaches 64 degrees this spring, cicadas from Brood X will start to claw their way towards the light. They’re expected to emerge by the billions across 14 states, with the epicenter in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Brood X is one of 15 broods of periodical cicadas—groups that emerge from the ground on the same time cycle—in the U.S. Twelve of those broods operate on 17-year cycles and the other three poke their heads above ground every 13 years. Cicadas are not locusts. Locusts are a type of short-horned grasshopper and belong to the order Orthoptera along with all other grasshoppers and crickets, while cicadas are Hemipterans which are considered “true bugs” and include aphids and planthoppers. The 13- or 17-year lifespan of periodical cicadas is one of the longest of any insect, but only a tiny fraction of that time is spent above ground. The rest of a periodical cicada’s life is spent underground as a nymph feeding on liquid sucked from plant roots. Over their many years beneath the soil, the nymphs shed their exoskeletons, a process known as molting, five times. Once topside, the nymphs climb up into the trees where they proceed to plant themselves on a branch and transform into winged adults by once again shedding their exoskeletons. At first, the red-eyed adults are ghostly white with soft, curled-up wings unfit for flight, but their bodies soon harden and turn black and the now rigid wings can finally float the chunky two-inch bug into the air. By emerging all at once in densities of up to 1.5 million per acre, cicadas manage to overwhelm predators, from songbirds to skunks, who quickly get too full to take another bite of the buzzing buffet. Nearly 3,400 species of cicada exist worldwide and the majority of them conduct their emergences every two to five years. A full-scale cicada emergence like the one coming for the eastern U.S. can reach a deafening crescendo as millions of males all call for mates at the same time. The amorous din can reach roughly 100 decibels, which is just shy of standing three feet from a chainsaw. Your Flooring Consultant, Matt Capell Email: sales@capellinteriors.com Phone (208) 288-0151 Fax (208) 917-6160 P.S. Here's a joke for you! What do you call a fly with no wings? A walk.