uncle buck
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This is the year of “The Great Eastern Brood”!!!! Brood 10, the largest and most widespread of the periodic cicada emergence! Sometimes referred to erroneously as the 17-year locust, brood 10 spreads across at least 13 states. Over the next few weeks the wooded areas you frequently visit in search of tasty edibles will be swarming with this interesting insect. There are six species of the periodic cicada, three with a 17 year cycle and five with a 13 year cycle. Brood 10 in Pennsylvania consists mostly of the 17 year species. If you check the ground in wooded areas you should see little mud piles, these spots are where the nymphs emerge from the ground to proceed up trunks and limbs to molt. Once molted and dried the winged adults can be up to 2 inches long. They fly during the day and become quite boisterous at night. Do not fear the periodic cicada for they don’t bite, sting or even kill trees as rumor has it. What may appear to be serious damage to trees is caused by the females boring into the tender twig ends of trees and shrubs to lay their eggs. This activity may kill off some leaves and twig ends but will not kill the tree. If you have small ornamentals you can cover them with mesh cloth to prevent the females from laying eggs on them. After about 5 weeks the brood will be gone for another 17 years. The periodic cicada is unique to Eastern North America so take advantage of this opportunity to appreciate a true wonder of nature.
