Magiccicada spp.
Prior to their emergence, Brood X had spent the past 17 years living underground as nymphs, feeding on the sap of plant roots and developing to maturity. They began emerging after the first ground thaw of 64°F. What’s unique about Brood X is that all the cicadas of the brood up to 1.5 million per acre emerge from their nymphal homes not over a season or even a couple weeks, but within a few nights of each other.
While there are several periodical cicada broods, Brood X is the one usually in the headlines because it emerges in such large numbers and, in many instances, in densely populated areas in the central and eastern U.S.