Several states across the midwest and northeast will see a surge in cicadas this summer as a group of the insects emerges from the ground after 17 years. The last swarm of the group known as "Brood X" (Brood 10) was in 2004.
"There are annual cicadas that come out every year, which people might be familiar with," said Dr. Jessica Ware with the American Museum of Natural History, "because we tend to think of that sound that we hear of cicadas as being a classic summer sound. But what's unique about these periodical cicadas is that they're emerging from living underground for 17 years."
This brood of cicadas spends its juvenile stage underground drinking plant sap. They emerge every 17 years to mate, lay eggs...and then die.
People in the 15 states that will be covered by this summer's swarm can expect a noisy four to six weeks. "The males can call up to 100 decibels," Dr. Ware said. "It kind of behooves them to be loud because they're attracting females."
Texans can enjoy the sounds of cicadas this summer, just like most summers. Our population of the insects is classified as "annual", meaning the come out every year - not every 17 years.
"Texas is not part of this cycle," said Dr. Ware. "We expect to see them going to Indiana down to the eastern part of Tennessee. There's going to be a lot of them in Washington, D.C. There's going to be quite a few, we think, in New Jersey."
