UpdatedMon, May 10, 2021 at 11:09 am ET
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Nymph cicadas are the progeny of Brood X of the 17-year cicadas emerging this week in Maryland. Many broods of periodical cicadas come out of the ground on rigid schedules in different years, but this is believed to be the largest and most noticeable. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
MARYLAND While reports noted isolated instances of cicadas emerging in the Baltimore/DC region, cool weather has delayed the coming invasion. Experts say when warmer temperatures set in later this week, swarms of the 17-year periodical cicadas will burst out of the ground.
The emergence happens with an almost singular purpose: Go forth and multiply to ensure the species will emerge again in a deafening buzz and promptly drop dead after finishing the one job they worked their way out of the ground to do.
While they re here for a short time, they will be busy molting, mating and then will die off by the end of June. The influx of protein into ecosystems will fatten up other animals and spur reproduction.
Brood X is one of 15 broods of periodical cicadas. Of the broods, Brood X is the largest range with cicadas appearing throughout parts of the South, northeastern states and Midwest. It s also the brood that has the highest concentration which could send the numbers into the trillions.
Where has Brood X emerged so far?
According to uploads from the Ohio-based app Cicada Safari, Brood X has already began to emerge in Benton, Tennessee, a rural town 38 miles southwest of Chattanooga as well as parts of north Georgia. In photos that users snapped, all of the cicadas have black patches behind their eyes, said Gene Kritsky, a cicada expert and dean of the School of Behavioral and Natural Sciences at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati.
Researchers using crowd-sourced app to track Brood X cicada emergence
Cicada Safari is an app that lets you become an amateur scientist, and it could lead to more cicadas being counted than ever before.
By: WCPO Staff
and last updated 2021-04-29 20:48:08-04
CINCINNATI, Ohio (WCPO) - Brood X is coming, and before you run away from the massive amount of cicadas, a new mobile app might convince you to stick around.
Cicada Safari is an app that lets you become an amateur scientist, and it could lead to more cicadas being counted than ever before. You go out and look for cicadas in your area, and when you find one, you open the app and you take a photograph of the cicada, said Dr. Gene Kritsky, Dean of Behavioral and Natural Sciences at Mount St. Joseph s University.