#pikkri

What you need to know about the Brood X Periodical Cicada emergence

2021 is the year of the Brood X emergence, the largest of the 17 year broods, spread out across 15 states! They’re expected to start emerging throughout May.

Periodical cicadas spend 17 or 13 years (depending on the brood) as nymphs underground. When the time is right, they emerge at the same time and shed their skin.

Emerging all at once is a survival mechanism, used to overwhelm predators. The cicadas are free to mate and lay eggs after predators are too full to eat anymore. They can emerge in densities of up to 1.5 million per acre!

Cicadas pose no threat to humans. They don’t even have a mouth to bite with! Their mouth is in the shape of a straw, used to pierce and suck liquid from roots. 

Only the male cicadas can sing. They have an organ on their abdomen called a Tymbal that produces the noise.