"Brood X" - Year of the Cicada

Billions of periodical cicadas are emerging from their nymph cycle, tunneling from the soil and molting into adults on some of the same trees they began life 17 years before. The insects are expected to dig out of the ground this May and early June, from Mississippi through the Atlantic Seaboard and from Michigan to Georgia.

This year just happens to be the year of "Brood X" where entomologists are predicting a major outbreak of the 17-year cicada - the world's longest living insect. The last true outbreak occurred in 1987 and was heaviest in the Ohio Valley region to Maryland.

The cicadas that emerge will spend the next four to six weeks performing a loud mating ritual and then die. Their offspring will be born from eggs laid in tree branches. These eggs hatch, the nymphs fall to enter the soil and then burrow underground to feed on suitable roots for the next 17 years.

Cicadas can harm young trees! Although they do not cause significant feeding damage, the female's egg laying habits can cause serious damage to young, transplanted trees in nurseries, orchards and yards. Branches on these trees are stripped, will wilt and then break off at damage points. Only on rare occasion are entire trees killed.

Experts advise tree owners to prune smaller trees only lightly or wait until later in the season to trim branches. You may want to cover smaller high-value trees with protective netting. The most susceptible of trees appear to be oak, hickory, honeylocust, dogwood, apple and peach.
Cicada Photos From Insectimages.org
Reston Association's Cicada Data
Cicada Watch - 2004