Does the monsoon bring out cicadas?
You'll know the noisy insects have returned by the loud buzzing in the trees. According to University of Arizona entomologist Gene Hall, the cicadas in our region come out annually, unlike the cicadas in the Midwest and back East. Hall said that you will usually hear them in the evenings and typically see them towards the end of May or the beginning of June. "How it feels is like they are kind of cueing us in for monsoon and getting ready because they show up in the driest, hottest time of summer here, right when things get going," Hall said. "So that usually precedes our monsoon season, and so, cicadas are usually out a few weeks before monsoon even begins and so it is just their life history their life cycle." Hall said you will hear them when it is very hot out because they come out when there are fewer predators, and they can adapt to the extreme heat. Hall also told News 4 Tucson that environmental conditions can impact the life cycle of these insects. Hot and dry conditions can kill off the plants that serve as their food source. Hall also said high amounts of moisture in the winter or spring impacts the soil which can kill them off as well. Hall said there are four dozen different species of cicadas in Arizona and each one with a different mating call. They can be found anywhere from the desert to higher elevations.