Magicicadas

This is a big, big year for periodical cicadas. Both the 13-year Brood XIX and the 17-year Brood XIII are emerging. All seven Magicicada species will be seen–but not all in any one place. The broods are “adjacent (but not significantly overlapping) in north-central Illinois.“

Unfortunately, none of this is happening where I am. I’d have to get down to Maryland or Virginia to see Brood XIX and even further into the Midwest to see XIII. (Photos here are from May & June, 2021, in Princeton NJ, when Brood X made quite a din.)

Next year, Brood XIV emerges. This is considered the second largest after Brood XIX. And it does include a population on the very island I live on (Long Island), but at its eastern end.

Meanwhile, if you’re in AL, AR, GA, IA, IN, IL, KY, LA, MD, MO, NC, OK, SC, TN, VA, or WI in the next two months, listen up!

Periodical cicadas have red eyes and emerge in the spring every 13-17 years. Annual cicadas have dark eyes and emerge in the late summer every year.