Buckeye Yard and Garden onLine

The geographical area covered by Brood XIV is impressive. The cicadas will emerge in parts of southern Ohio; as well as parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. Several 17-year cicada species will appear in this Brood including: M. cassini, M. septendecula, and M. septendecum. Typically, the emergence begins around mid-May. The cicada flying, "singing," and egg laying activity usually peaks by late-May. By early to mid-June, it's all over but the stench of decaying bug bodies.

Periodical cicadas are a problem because of numbers, noise, and egg laying. There is little reason to describe what these 1 1/2" long insect look like; their shear numbers will make identification self-evident. They emerge en masse creating an entomophobic nightmare. Once a "critical mass" is achieved, the males begin to "sing." They vibrate two membranous sound producing organs, called tymbals, which are located on either side of the abdomen just behind their thorax. The songs of individuals are augmented by a combined chorus of tens of thousands. When the males synchronize their chorus, the sound can become deafening. Of course, the cacophony is music to the "ears" of a female cicada, and ultimately brings her to a mating meeting.

Once mated, the female cicada will use her spade-like ovipositor to insert eggs through the bark of twigs and into the white wood. The resulting damage splits the bark and white wood leaving deep longitudinal furrows of ruptured tissue. The injury often causes the twig to die, the leaves to turn brown ("flag"), and the twig to detach and drop.

In most cases, management of the periodical cicada is not necessary, but fruit trees and newly transplanted trees may need to be protected. Small trees and shrubs can be covered with a fine mesh nylon netting as a physical barrier to prevent egg laying. Few chemicals that are available to homeowners will limit the damage. Nurseries and orchards have a greater arsenal available to them than landscapers and homeowners. The practice of delaying planting trees until fall to avoid damage is seldom justified, particularly in new housing developments where trees have been removed, soil disturbed, and most of the cicada nymphs destroyed. Even in older residential settings, the random distribution of the cicadas makes predicting damage a hit-or-miss proposition.

For more information, see:

• Periodical Cicadas
• Univ. of Michigan Cicada Pages