Once every 17 years, a massive brood of cicada bugs (Magi cicada cassinii) arrives in the mid-Atlantic and Midwest. The 2021 brood is an expected phenomenon, named Brood X.

If you live in certain states, you should easily recognize the telltale sound of cicada insects mating, which can reach 100 decibels.

While this can be fascinating to hear – knowing we still have a planet where people and nature thrive – this year’s largest and most widespread colony is due to emerge from hibernation. If you live in one of the affected areas, there will be billions or even trillions of cicadas.

As appearances go, this may be a humdinger. (1,2)

Plan For A Cicadas Invasion 

Do you live in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, or Tennessee?

There’s not a lot you can do to avoid the giant mass of cicadas if you live in one of these areas. However, there is some advice from Entomologist Mike Raupp, who spoke to WTOP news, stating the epicenter of emergence will range from Georgia to New England: 

• For five to six weeks in May 2021, the cicadas will be above ground to lay eggs and mate. It may be necessary to protect some plants. Pets too, as their hard exoskeletons and wings can cause pets to choke.
• When the cicadas emerge, they’re looking for wooden stems about the size of a pinkie to lay eggs. Skip the pesticides and cover young existing fruit trees with netting, by the middle or end of April. This will keep the cicadas from laying their eggs in the branches.
• Use fine netting with net sizes about a centimeter or less, and cover those trees entirely.
  The good news is cicadas won’t decimate crops or poison pets, and humans can actually eat them safely as they don’t spread any diseases. (2)

State Mission To Mate

To survive, cicadas need to show up in massive numbers, just so that their many predators can’t eat them all.

Cold weather is a problem if the temperature lingers too long below 68 degrees, as it gets too cold for them to mate. A brood will not withstand a cold summer above ground, but it is not a concern to survive below ground. The less frequently they emerge, the lower the chances of an exceptionally cold summer wiping them out.

The exact reason behind why every 17 years is unknown, but scientists have a couple of theories. One is that a rare, prime-numbered lifecycle avoids run-ins of generations of cicadas, with the life cycles of wasps, that prey on them. (3)

The other suggests that the cycle minimizes the probability that 17-year cicadas will mate with cicadas of a different species or generation. The scale of these generations would be reduced by such hybridization. (3)

Earth truly is a fascinating planet. The cicadas will feed on the fluids in tree roots until they emerge to breed again in May 2038.

With just a bit of crunch, they are a dietary staple in many parts of the world. So instead of worrying about sweeping them up, remember, some of them may taste great in a burger. (2)