Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Brood X

Brood X cicadas have arrived in MD, and they are numerous and noisy. 

Beginning in mid-May, we noticed a few of their discarded carcasses on one sycamore tree along our walk. The birds were quite happy to see them, and we've seen the neighborhood sparrows and cardinals feasting on them. 

Then we started seeing more and more cicadas. I have to avoid them when I'm hanging laundry and John always has a few hit him in the chest when he goes out for a bike ride.

In real life, they are about an inch long with a four inch wingspan. They don't bite, sting, or harm humans or most plants. They lay their eggs in trees, so some small tree branches can be harmed if too many eggs have been laid on them, but plant damage isn't common. They should be active above ground until the end of June, when the young drop to the ground and burrow into the soil. There they'll molt four times over the next 17 years and then the cycle will start again. 

While they don't harm humans or most plants, they are the loudest insects on earth. Male cicadas use their wings and special organs called tymbals to create their "song" (and I use this term loosely). The chorus of male cicadas is about 100 decibels, or about as loud as a lawnmower. It seems to be at a frequency that hurts my ears and feels like its burrowing into my brain. But with cicadas estimated at a density as high as 1 million per acre, they win.

I took this short video to try and illustrate what it sounds like outside. These are on the ivy covering the trunk of the pine tree in our back yard, and hopefully you can get an idea of what their "song" sounds like. (My neighbors' poor dog feels compelled to bark at the cicadas whenever he's outdoors, so you'll hear him, too.)


I'm personally looking forward to the quiet that I hope is coming at the end of June!

13 comments:

  1. Yikes!! That's a lot of cicadas on the ivy. Surprisingly, I have not yet heard them around here.

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  2. Wow...should have asked for noise cancelling headphones for Mother's Day!

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    1. Great idea! There is still a whole month to go, so I may need to invest in a pair to survive June.

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  3. I usually love the sound of summer cicadas (August, usually), but they are not the loud-chorus-of-Brood-X cicadas that you've got going, Bonny. Yikes! I hope you can find ways to make peace with them (and the neighbor's dog . . . ) for the rest of the month. Thanks for sharing -- I'm intrigued by Brood X, but they are not expected to make an appearance this far west in Michigan.

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  4. I am very thankful that Brood X is not in our area (we get that same sort of annoying drone from the construction work going on at the hospital near us, and that's enough of a bother!). I guess the good news is that you won't have to put up with them too much longer and then they'll go away for another 17 years!

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  5. Wow! Thank you for all this Brood X info... I did not know most of this! That "song" though... yikes (but that dog sentinel might be the perfect harmony, lol) Here is to soon silent days!

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  6. I love cicadas and haven't found any here yet, though the Brood X map indicates that I'm in the right place. Sharon found one discarded shell in the yard, but I haven't seen or heard any. In your video clip, I found the dog WAY more annoying than the cicadas!

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  7. OMG! That is a loud and annoying noise. I'm really glad we don't get them here in Wisconsin!

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  8. Brood X is not coming to my area, and I am not sorry. They are absolutely fascinating insects, and I usually don't mind them much. We had a brood hatch here a few years ago that was loud and very, very messy, and I did get tired of sweeping up husks. I don't think I have ever seen that many in this area. I think noise cancelling headphones are a great idea! I have a pair and they work, but they give me a headache, which is a rare complication of them. To positively reframe this situation, I hope that's all you have to deal with in June. Happy Tuesday, Bonny!

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  9. Yikes! That is LOUD and I'm glad we aren't supposed to experience that here. Is it all day long? Night time, too? When do they rest?!?!

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  10. Wow! Very interesting but I won’t deny I am also not sad to see they won’t be landing here soon!

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  11. Oh my, I can't even imagine ... so thank you for the video - with SOUND! I know you're looking forward to hearing the birds ... and silence. soon!

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