![]() Initially, the very small (1/10 of an inch long!) nymphs feed on the roots of small plants, such as grasses. Consequently, they have mouthparts that are modified for piercing and sucking, and cicada nymphs use their straw-like mouthparts to tap into a plant’s root system and sip plant juices. 3 Cicadas belong to the insect order Homoptera and, like all Homopterans, are fluid-feeders. After a period of 6-10 weeks, the eggs hatch, and young cicadas (called nymphs) drop to the ground where they dig into the soil and settle in among the plant roots. High up in the trees, a female periodical cicada uses her ovipositor (a long, pointed, egg-laying organ) to make slits in young twigs, in which she lays her eggs. Emergence holes of periodical cicadas, Fort Harrison State Park. Every 17 years, Brood X makes headlines as vast numbers of juvenile cicadas emerge from their underground tunnels, undergo their final molt to become adults, and begin the serious – and seriously noisy – business of ensuring the next generation of Brood X periodical cicadas. 3 This year, though, is different: 2021 is the emergence year for Brood X – also known as the Great Eastern Brood – the largest of all periodical cicada broods. 6 Members of a given year’s cohort are referred to as a brood, and broods are usually relatively small and have fairly restricted geographic distributions. In most years, somewhere in North America a late spring emergence of Magicicada species occurs. 2-4 Although cicadas are a diverse group of insects – there are over 3000 species of cicadas worldwide 5 – Magicicada are found only in North America. Periodical cicadas, which belong to the genus Magicicada, are exceptionally long-lived insects and display one of two degrees of periodicity: 17 years and 13 years. ![]() Run-of-the-mill annual cicadas these are not! If you live in the right area (or wrong area – depending on your point of view) and step outdoors in May and June, you will experience the sublime symphony (or raucous cacophony) of periodical cicadas. When it comes to cicadas, though, 2021 is anything but typical! Periodical cicada, Magicicada sp., Fort Harrison State park. Green-and-black above and startlingly white below, the arrival of these large, stout-bodied, green-eyed insects is inextricably linked with the dog days 1 of summer, and the occasional chirring call of a male cicada singing to potential mates is part of the background noise of the season. In a typical year, an encounter with a cicada takes place during the hot, sultry days of July and August. As Spring Segues into Summer, the Great Eastern Brood Arrives.
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