Will Brood X emerge in New England? Here cicadas are snoozing until 2025 and 2030
The expression "put a bug in your ear" has taken on a whole new meaning.
With the arrival of millions of Brood X cicadas in various parts of the country, the internet is in a frenzy over the mysterious, large, bulgy-eyed insects that can generate noise reaching 100 decibels, or similar to that of a motorcycle or a low-flying plane. Some people are petrified of them, while others are sharing recipes to eat them.
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The Great Eastern Brood, widely referred to as Brood X, is surfacing after 17 years underground. This particular brood of cicadas was last seen in 2004, and is most likely to be spotted this spring and early summer across 15 states – Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia – according to the University of Connecticut's cicada mapping project called Cicadas @ UCONN.
Are there cicadas in New England?
New England will miss the takeover of Brood X this year, but it's slated to see two other 17-year broods in the next nine years.
Brood XIV, last seen in 2008, is expected to emerge in Massachusetts in 2025, particularly on Cape Cod. Cicada Mania, a website dedicated to everything cicada, says to expect some early-emergers from Brood XIV showing up four years early.
Cicadas @ UCONN notes that Cape Cod's cicada populations "are unusual for their occurrence on sandy soil."
Dr. Gene Kritsky, dean of the School of Behavioral and Natural Sciences at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, created a smartphone mapping app called Cicada Safari. He said the Brood XIV cicadas have a long history on Cape Cod going back to 1770.
"The soil and the woody plants would be essential for optimal periodical cicada growth," he said. "We also have Brood XIV in Ohio and in our case, the sandy soil is not the draw."
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A 1940 publication Kritsky provided shows the historical dates for Brood XIV in Massachusetts, including appearances over the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s in Barnstable, Dennis, Falmouth, Bourne, Plymouth and a handful of other nearby towns.
In 2030 in Connecticut, Brood II, the East Coast Brood, is scheduled to make an appearance.
What are periodical cicadas?
According to Cicada Safari, this year's Brood X is the largest of the 17-year cicada broods, which are named after Roman numerals.
Depending on the species, periodical cicadas emerge every 13 or 17 years. There are 12 active broods of 17-year periodical cicadas and three active broods of 13-year cicadas in the U.S.
They typically surface when soil temperature reaches 64º F, around mid-May to early June. There are also annual cicadas that show up each year.
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"Periodical cicadas are among the most unusual of insects, with long life cycles, infrequent, periodic mass emergences, striking appearance and noisy behaviors," writes UConn's John Cooley, who runs the Magicicada brood mapping project and studies cicada behavior and ecology.
Periodical cicadas spend nearly all of their lives underground, waiting to emerge, breed and lay eggs. After doing so, they die within just a few weeks. Following Brood X's emergence this year, their offspring will repeat the cycle and go back underground until 2038.