THE ANSWER
According to the Nature Conservancy, Brood X will see trillions of periodical cicadas in 15 states, including “parts of Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.”
There are 15 broods, or groupings, of periodical cicadas in the eastern United States.
“Twelve of those are 17-year cicadas, and three are 13-year cicadas, but they’re designated by Roman numerals,” according to Dr. Paula Shrewsbury, professor of entomology at the University of Maryland.
THE QUESTION
THE ANSWER
George Washington University Postdoctoral scientist Zoe Getman-Pickering told WUSA’s VERIFY team in April that Brood X cicadas will begin to emerge at night near the beginning of May.
Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Much to the chagrin of insect enthusiasts and the relief of just about everyone else, don’t expect a multitude of cicadas from so-called Brood X to infest Long Island this year. Every 17 years, billions of noisy cicadas crawl out of the ground infesting the northeast in a swarm of biblical proportions. They grow, eat, sing, mate, and die. Then their progeny (brood) burrow back underground to incubate for another 17-year-long cycle. The 2021 crop of cicadas - called Brood X by scientists - might be a bust if the last recorded emergence is any indication. Back in 2004, this specific species of cicada that emerged on the 17-year time schedule was deemed all but extinct on Long Island. A Newsday article reported that the Brood X barely made an appearance.