Brood X comes for a visit this summer
They show up uninvited every 17 years to make a lot of noise. But they don't bite and they mainly shut up at night. And that will be a relief.
Scientists have named them Brood X (10), one of 15 different broods of 17-year cicadas. Periodical cicadas living in the eastern U.S. will be emerging as a group between April and May. That is, unless the ground is too cold (should be about 64 degrees) or there is too much rain — then they will just wait patiently until conditions are right.
There will be trillions of them spread across 15 states. A half-acre could produce 500 pounds of the critters. Birds, cats, dogs, fish and rodents will stop what they are doing and eat cicadas.
The lovelorn males will make a lot of noise during the day with their buzzing mating calls. The females lay fertilized eggs in a tree branch by cutting a slit with their sharp wings. Their young hatch in the tree limb in six to 10 weeks, drop to the ground, and tunnel in to the tree roots.
In cities and sprawling urban areas, cicadas probably won't be too much of a problem, since they love young trees in the forest. Farmers and gardeners generally do not have to worry about damage to plants. But if you have a lot of young plants, a net might protect the plants from sharp cicada wings.
