Brood X cicadas will take to the skies this spring, after 17 years of being burrowed underground

DELMARVA – After 17 long years of slumber below ground, Brood X cicadas are coming. The cicadas last took to the skies in 2004. “They will go ahead and sing so that they’re going to attract a mate. The guys will sing and the girls will answer – they’ll have a good time. The females will then go lay their eggs on very, very young parts of trees,” said University of Maryland Extension Commercial Horticulturalist Ginny Rosenkranz.

Rosenkranz says once the cicadas spend the end of May and early June mating and laying eggs, they’ll die. The eggs will then hatch, the larvae will burrow into the ground, and we won’t see them again for another 17 years. “They stay there for 17 years, just nibbling on the roots of the trees,” said Rosenkranz.

The good news is the cicada’s trademark loud singing and great numbers might not be so severe here on the Eastern Shore. Rosenkranz says that’s because cicadas like to burrow into heavy soil, and the soil here is sandier and lighter than on the Western Shore of Maryland. “They have a heavier soil base, more areas where they have a lot of old trees. The old trees are where the cicadas feed on the roots of the trees,” said Rosenkranz.

Incredibly, Rosenkranz tells 47ABC, even though the cicadas spend most of their lives underground feeding off of tree roots, little damage is done. Rosenkranz says the only real threat is when female cicadas lay their eggs on the branches of young trees. But, Rosenkranz says even that might not be a major problem. “They’ve never really damaged the roots of the trees, which is really amazing considering how many thousands and millions of them will pop up,” said Rosenkranz.