Waiting in the Wings: Cicadas
They're baaaa-aaack! A big "brood" of cicadas -- which has been biding its time underground since the first Clinton administration -- is forecast to emerge from the ground this spring along the East Coast.
"Spectacular" and "amazing" are two of the words used by University of Maryland entomologist Michael Raupp to describe the East's biggest influx of the annoying but mostly harmless bugs since a separate brood emerged in 2004.
This year's "emergence" should be quite extensive, as the critters will likely come out all the way from the Carolinas to the Hudson Valley of New York, says John Cooley, a research scientist from the University of Connecticut.
"All the East Coast cities are in the path of the cicadas," says Cooley, who runs the magicicada.org website, and requests reports from people who see cicadas this spring.
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The emergence could include parts or all of the New York metropolitan area, whose nearly 20 million inhabitants might have to contend with swarms of cicadas, which can number as many as 1 billion bugs per square mile. Historically, this brood has been seen in the Bronx, Cooley says, and the bugs could also come out in Central Park.
"The greater New York metro area is going to rock with cicadas," according to Raupp.
They should emerge in the South in late April or May and in the cooler states in the North by the latter half of May and into early June, he adds. Unfortunately, this is just in time for prime wedding season.
"The timing depends on the weather," says Dan Mozgai, a cicada enthusiast from Metuchen, N.J.. "They typically emerge when the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees." Mozgai is the founder of the website cicadamania.com.
There are at least 15 cycles, or "broods," of periodical cicadas, some of which emerge every 17 years, while others emerge every 13 years. Different broods of cicadas emerge in different parts of the eastern half of the USA in different years. Other species of cicadas show up every summer. The bugs have only been seen as far west as Texas and Oklahoma and have not been spotted in the Far West.
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This year's group is known as "Brood II." The previous big cicada emergence in the East was 2004's "Brood X." (Like Super Bowls, entomologists like using Roman numerals to label the different broods.) Brood X will emerge again in 2021.
Cicadas are harmless bugs, though males can make a loud buzz when they're alarmed, and they're big enough to startle humans in return. The largest can have three-inch wingspans. Young, small trees can also be damaged when females deposit their eggs inside branches, so they can be a problem for fruit orchards, Cooley says.
An adult cicada usually lives for about two to four weeks, Mozgai says. This is a long time to wait after spending 17 years underground: They admittedly have "a pretty dismal life," Cooley says. The bugs only come above ground to breed for the next batch of cicadas.
According to the Penn State University Entomology Department, cicadas stay alive underground by drawing fluid from the roots of plants during those 17 (or 13) years.
And they do serve a purpose: Cicadas aid their host trees by aerating the soil when they emerge, as well as by trimming weaker branches when they lay their eggs, Morzgai notes on his website. "They also form a vital link in the food chain between trees and literally hundreds of carnivores and omnivores."
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The uniqueness of cicadas has given them a special appeal and cultural status, Cooley writes on the magicicada.org website. "Members of the Onondaga Nation near Syracuse maintain the oral tradition of being rescued from famine by periodical cicadas," he adds. "Early European colonists viewed periodical cicadas with a mixture of religious apprehension and loathing."
And who or what eats them? "Anything with a mouth," says Cooley, including deer, squirrels, house pets, birds, and yes, people:
"Whether they're curious or doing it for the shock value, people are eating cicadas," Mozgai writes. "Asian peoples have eaten cicadas for centuries, and there are records of Native Americans eating cicadas. I've heard they taste like asparagus, popcorn, minty shrimp, and piney shrimp."
If you're not into eating cicadas, you can always listen to them: In order to attract females, male cicadas emit a deafening chorus, which can reach 90 decibels -- as loud as a lawnmower.
All this to ensure that this brood's children will be around to bug us again ... in 2030.