A colony of Brood X cicadas hibernating for the past 17 years is set to invade 15 states of the US this year. Once the cicadas force their way to the surface, they will produce a noise that is 100 decibels while they mate.
The Brood X cicadas have unique colors with orange stripes along their bodies and orange patch between their eyes. They are expected to appear around mid-May until June. There are 15 broods of cicadas hibernating that will mostly appear in the eastern and central parts of the country.
Total Invasion of Brood X Cicadas
According to a report by MailOnline, the 15 states that will be swarmed by Brood X cicadas are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.
This invasion of cicadas is similar to the big brood that invaded several states as well in 2004. The University of Tennessee's Institute of Agriculture said that there are two races of periodical cicadas: the 17-year and 13-year.
The 17-year cicadas are also known as the Brood X cicadas that are set to emerge this year, which was last seen in 2004. While the 13-year swarm is known as the Brood XIX that first emerged in 2011 and is expected to resurface in 2024, FOX17 News reported. UTIA map shows that most parts of Tennessee will be able to witness the swarms of noisy cicadas.
FOX 17 News reporter Alex Apple, who is also a native of Nashville, said that once she was a kid the island in their driveway was fully covered with cicadas that somehow no one will even know there is grass beneath that swarm.
Also, FOX 17 News reporter and Nashville native Harriet Wallace shared that what she witnessed was a total invasion of cicadas. "If you're not from here, you won't believe it until you see it," she said.
How Harmful Are Cicadas?
Cicadas are known to be noisy when mating, making a sound that is enough to drown out the noise of a passing jet plane. Despite that, they are relatively harmless, although they could be a nuisance flying into windshields and leaving their tiny carcasses everywhere. But MailOnline reported that they could cause damages to small, young trees, and could sometimes bite or sting.
It is still a mystery how cicadas time their return from their sunken worlds, but scientists believe that this mechanism was developed to avoid running into their predators.
"When the cicadas emerge, the amount of biomass they provide could serve as a food source for potential predators to take advantage of. It is theorized that these cicadas have evolved to avoid synching up with predator cycles by having a 13- or 17-year prime number emergence interval," according to Virginia Tech.
Cicadas mainly spend their lives as nymphs that live under the soil and feed on the roots of the trees. Even though they stay underground, these insects are not hibernating. They go through different growth stages and molt four times before resurfacing, especially when the surface reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
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