Cicadas are back and making noise
Those noisy, irritating Cicadas are back in Kentucky, West Virginia and a few other states. Magicicada Brood XIV (14), which is among the largest of all 17-year cicada broods, have emerged from underground. Some people in the Lawrence, Martin, Johnson, Floyd and Magoffin Counties area have started reported seeing and hearing the loud little creatures. You can expect them to be around for the next six weeks. The last time they were in the area was in 2008.
Cicadas are “true bug” insects, best known for the songs sung by most, but not all, male cicadas. Males sing by flexing their tymbals, which are drum-like organs found in their abdomens. Small muscles rapidly pull the tymbals in and out of shape. The sound is intensified by the cicada’s mostly hollow abdomen.
Cicadas begin life as a rice-shaped egg, which the female deposits in a groove she makes in a tree limb, using her ovipositor. The groove provides shelter and exposes the tree fluids, which the young cicadas feed on. These grooves can kill small branches. When the branches die and the leaves turn brown, it is called flagging.
Once the cicada hatches from the egg it will begin to feed on the tree fluids. At this point, it looks like a termite or a small white ant. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig until it finds roots to feed on. It will typically start with smaller roots of grass plants and work its way up to the roots of its host tree. Depending on the species, the cicada will stay underground. Cicadas are active underground, tunneling, feeding, and not sleeping or hibernating as commonly thought.
After a long 2 to 17 years, cicadas emerge from the ground as nymphs. Nymphs climb the nearest available vertical surface (usually a plant) and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. Free of their old skin, their wings will inflate with fluid (hemolymph) and their adult skin will harden (sclerotize). Once their new wings and body are ready, they can begin their brief adult life.
Adult cicadas also called imagoes, spend their time in trees looking for a mate. Males sing (or otherwise vibrate the air or their surroundings), females respond, mating begins, and the life cycle begins again.
Some people associate the cicadas with locusts, but they are actually entirely different, they are part of the same family as stink bugs and bedbugs.
They don’t bite you or harm you, but Copperhead snakes loves to eat them, so be aware of your surroundings when you are out. Cats and dogs can get sick from eating them, it’s not fatal. Birds and other predators that eat insects love the tasty little treats.
According to the EPA, they don’t eat flowers, fruits or garden vegetables, but they can harm young trees. The Cicadas will peak around Memorial Day and then die off by the end of June. If you are paying attention, nature can be amazing. Photo of cicada’s taken by Becky Fletcher