Alert:
1. They are harmless.
2. They are loud. We’re talking sports arena loud.
3. They will appear when soil temperatures reach 64-65 degrees – probably mid-May.
4. They’ll be around for about four to six weeks.
5. They will be almost everywhere in Fairfax County. Some limited areas will see few of them.
6. They are edible. There are recipes online.
7. They are clumsy flyers and don’t social distance. They bump into things – and into people.
8. Pets love them. Rover can eat a few, but not too many or he’ll get an upset stomach.
9. They don’t swarm. They fly about individually.
10. They don’t bite.
11. They don’t sting,
12. They will molt and leave shells all over the place.
13. These are not locusts. They won’t eat your garden flowers and vegetables.
14. The tips of some tree limbs will die later in the summer.
15. Do not use pesiticides against them. You're wasting your time and money and harming the environment.
The 17-year periodical cicadas return to Fairfax County this spring. The cicadas that visit us this year are part of an eastern group called Brood X. (That's Brood Ten. There are several broods throughout the nation, and they are identified by Roman numerals.) They are expected to emerge in the middle of May when the ground temperature gets to about 64 degrees. They’ve been living underground since their last appearance in 2004.
The periodical cicada is black with red eyes, and will last in its flying form a little more than a month. There could be millions across the region. The numbers will likely be affected by land changes. In places where development and tree removal has occurred since 2004, the numbers may be down. In places like Fairfax County, where land development was fairly stable, there may be little change.
Cicadas are special because of their extremely long life cycle. They spend two to 17 years as a larva underground feeding on tree roots. Most other insects have much shorter life spans. Cicadas appear in huge numbers, are fairly large as local insects go, and are very loud. Depending on how close you get, the noise could reach 90 to 120 decibels. That’s gas lawn mower, packed sports arena, rock concert loud. They won’t go unnoticed.
The only real effect they might have on residents is to hurt newly planted young trees. The tips of some tree limbs will die later in the summer. The branch tips are damaged when female cicadas cut a slit and lay eggs in them. In the great majority of cases, there is no long-term damage to the trees. You may want to use netting over young saplings.
Pets love them. It’s ok if Rover eats a few. Dogs have been known to get upset stomachs and vomit if they eat too many – and they will try to do that. For the best information, check with your vet. They are edible by people if you’re into that and brave enough to try.
As part of the cicada survival strategy, some of each brood can emerge between one and four years early. That protects the species in case some catastrophe were to destroy all the cicadas in a given emergence. Scientists believe the small emergence in Fairfax County in 2017, called an acceleration, was an early emergence of this year’s Brood X.
