17 years in the making: Cicadas to emerge this month
In a phenomenon 17 years in the making, winged insects will be making their way from the cool soil to swarm in the airs above this month.
Similar to the locust, the red-eyed cicadas will be making their presence known this month for the first time since the summer of 1999.
For over a decade, this particular brood of cicadas — identified by Roman Numerals; this one dubbed Brood V — has burrowed 2 to 24 inches underground, taking nutrients from plant roots, according to Gregory Hoover, ornamental entomologist in the Penn State Department of Entomology.
While cicadas wait for the optimal conditions to emerge, they’re typically within an inch of the soil surface, he said.
“Soil temperatures reaching 64 degrees Fahrenheit and a light precipitation event seem to be prerequisites for cicadas to emerge,” Hoover said in a press release, adding that mid- to late May is usually when the time is right.
For the time being, though, officials with The Old Farmer’s Almanac said that weather folklore indicates “the singing of cicadas heralds warm, dry days ahead.”
Their extended slumber underground is for their subterranean transition from nymph to adult. For six weeks, cicadas will thrive as they shed their exoskeletons, mate and lay eggs.
After their brief, albeit annoying to some, presence above ground, their eggs will be laid and will not appear above ground for another 17 years, or 2033.
While the visitors from Brood V may pose a slight risk to vegetation, they’re harmless to people, Hoover said.
“Any damage caused by the periodical cicadas occurs during egg-laying,” according to the press release. “This process can cause the foliage on small twigs to wilt and may provide an opening for a plant disease. Adults live only a few weeks, but the twig injury they cause may be apparent for several years.”
Hoover explained that those who wish to protect their vegetation — namely shade trees, fruit trees and high-value woody ornamental plants — can cover the crown of the valuable trees with a fine mesh, being sure to tie off the covering around the base of the tree to prevent adult females from accessing the crown of the tree.
“Periodical cicadas are sometimes called nature’s pruners,” Hoover added.
Though these slightly mysterious little insects are unique to North America, they’re not unique to our region.
Valerie Sesler, master gardener coordinator with the Penn State extension, explained that broods are on different schedules according to the region.
Hoover added that they exist nowhere else in the world.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.