The Brood X Cicadas Are Going to Emerge Soon
A whole lot of cicadas are about to surface from their resting spot under the Earth, annoying [...]
A whole lot of cicadas are about to surface from their resting spot under the Earth, annoying whatever summer barbeques you have planned for the immediate future. The cicadas — given the ominous name Brood X — have been growing underground since 2004 and will soon surface for the first time in 17 years. When they do surface, experts suggest "trillions" of the buzzing bugs could soon swarm certain sections of the United States.
For the most part, Brood X will be situated around the Mid-Atlantic location from Pennsylvania and New Jersey down south to Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Tracking has also projected a substantial amount of Brood X could surface in the Midwest, starting at Central Ohio and moving west to Indiana and Illinois.
According to some, the buzz of some swarms could reach upwards of 96 decibels, the equivalency of an active lawnmower or motorcycle roaring by you.
"Individually they are not as loud as some of our summer cicadas. But the difference is there are an awful lot of these," cicada expert John Cooley tells Michigan's WZZM. "Brood X is spread into a couple of major different areas. You start to push up into Michigan and not only do you have the problem of patchy trees, but you're also up at the northern edge of the general periodic cicada distribution."
Cooley says Brood X will surface for a couple of weeks to mate and lay eggs, cause a slight noise distraction, and die off in anticipation of the next wave 17 years from now. Cicadas part of the wave are expected to be around an inch-and-a-half in length.
"This lineage of these cicadas is about 5 million years old. They have been living in eastern forests for that length of time. They are a natural part of the ecosystem. So if you were to remove something like that from the ecosystem you don't even know what effects there would be. But there would undoubtedly be impacts," Cooley adds.
There's no exact timetable on when Brood X will begin to emerge, though the consensus amongst experts seems to suggest people will start to see them in the next week or two. Researchers are asking for people to report Brood X citings on a new Cicada Safari app on iOS.
You can download that app here.
Cover photo by Richard Ellis/Getty Images
