Community Corner

The Great Cicada Search; Did Monmouth County Luck Out?

Where are the cicadas?

By Kaitlyn Anness 

The buildup to the hatching of cicadas had more hype behind it than a Brad Pitt movie.

Even Patch geared up with informational articles, warning of hatching times and mating rituals. But where are they?

In early June, I walked through Holmdel Park and found nothing. By late June, a hike on the same trail revealed a lone shell.

A visit to my parents in Westfield let me know that driving around in that town with all your windows open leaves you vulnerable to several cicadas making themselves comfy in your backseat. But Monmouth County seems to have been spared.

According to the New York Times, agricultural and urban development have slowed the cicadasand confined them to certain areas with the right kinds of trees and landscaping.

And even when trees that weren't there 17 years ago do grow back, cicadas aren't the best at flying and finding them.

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