They’re Here! Let the Brood X Cicada Invasion Begin
Has it been 17 years already? Some folks around the country might be thinking that soon when they start to see and hear cicadas as they emerge from under ground. Photo by Lacy L. Hyche
They’re starting to stir right now – perhaps right under your feet – preparing to emerge en masse in a spectacle seen only in the U.S., and only once every 17 years. First reports are starting to come in for Brood X, a monstrous explosion of cicadas ready to appear from the ground, become adults, and commence eating and mating.
Brood X is also known as The Great Eastern Brood, and includes all three species of cicadas that emerge every 17 years. There are seven species of North American periodical cicadas, and the other four are on a 12-year cycle, and don’t make nearly as dramatic an entrance.
The trillions of insects will emerge as far west as Illinois, as far north as New York, and as far south as Georgia.
They are harmless to humans, but can harm fruit trees, especially young, vulnerable trees, says Elizabeth Yim Long of Purdue University, who recently posted an article about protecting trees to the university website. Netting trees is preferred, she says, but in large commercial blocks where that isn’t practical, there are insecticides approved for cicadas, she says.
According to scientists, these cicadas emerge all at once because it increases the chance of the species’ survival. If they all emerge it once, it’s not possible for predators to eat them all, so enough survive to mate, ensuring another generation – in 2038.
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