Trillions Of Cicadas? Don't Count On MD To Add Much To The Buzz

MARYLAND — While hordes of periodical cicadas will emerge from the ground later this spring to mate and leave their hollow shells behind on trees and lawns, the number expected in Maryland is fairly small.

The cicadas we’ll see in Maryland — likely starting in mid-May and continuing through June — are part of the 13-year Brood XIX. The 17-year Brood XIII will emerge only in Illinois and Michigan, experts.

In Maryland, Brood XIX is only expected to emerge in southern St. Mary’s County, according to University of Maryland Extension. The agency said it is awaiting first reports of emergence. Anyone who spots signs of emergence can report them through Cicada Safari.

Michael Raupp, a professor emeritus at the university’s entomology department, told the UMD Diamondback he plans to travel to St. Mary’s County to study the cicada emergence. He said that development in the area since 2011 could harm the chances of the insect's return.

“They are holding on in one very, very tiny corner of St. Mary’s County,” Raupp said. “Fingers crossed that whatever has intervened in the past 13 years has not extricated their population.”

Cicadas spend most of their lives underground as immature nymphs but appear en masse every 13 or 17 years. They should start tunneling toward the surface when soil temperatures reach about 64 degrees and are expected to appear for about four weeks during May and June in Illinois, according to the university.

Their extraordinarily long life cycle, the longest of any insect on the planet, is part of an evolutionary strategy that has allowed the species to survive for 1.8 million years, or from the Pleistocene Epoch.

Cicadas are about an inch long and have a three-inch wingspan. Their mating calls can be deafening, heralding their arrival above ground with a high-pitched cacophony of buzzing that can reach decibels of 100 or greater — about the same as a subway train, forklift or motorcycle.

Pesticides won’t kill cicadas and are not recommended.

Related: The Cicadas Are Coming! They’re Cool Science, And You Can Eat Them, Too!