Periodic Cicada

Wednesday
This is the year for the Brood X 17 year cicada! Nearly 3,400 species of cicadas exist worldwide. But periodical cicadas that emerge en masse once every 17 or 13 years are unique to the eastern U.S. The 17-year cicadas live in the North, and the 13-year cicadas are found in the South and the Mississippi Valley.  This generation got its start back in 2004, when the newly hatched cicada nymphs fell from the trees and burrowed into the ground. They have been underground ever since, feeding on sap from the rootlets of grasses and trees and slowly maturing. All of that preparation leads to this moment when they surface in droves - to moult into their adult form, sing their deafening love song up in the trees, mate and produce the next generation before dying just a few weeks later. Emerging simultaneously as they do, in huge numbers, overwhelms predators. So even after the birds, mammals and fish have sated themselves on the plump, defenseless insects, plenty of cicadas remain to produce the next generation. Exactly how they know which year to emerge remains uncertain. As for when in the year they emerge, it’s usually early to mid May, when the temperatures are warming up and usually when the ground is damp after rain. They’re slightly later than usual this year, as early May was unusually cool. We had been hearing reports that some had been seen at various areas around the city during the last several days, but this was the first one we have seen, this morning on the edge of our patio, and it was all alone. Initially, we thought it was dead, but then we did see it move. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of them in the days to come, but some areas will be affected more than others. They don’t usually bother you too much, they don’t bite or sting, the odd one might fly into you if you’re cutting the grass or something, as they’re not very good fliers - they generally don’t fly far from where they emerge. Even if you don’t like them, they’re only here for about six weeks, then they’re all gone for another 17 years!
We were busy in the garden much of the day, Roger was cutting the grass, and I was pressure washing the patio.