This year marks the emergence of periodical cicadas. Two broods, one 13-year (XIX) and one 17-year (XIII) will emerge soon from underground nests across a large section of the Eastern United States. Fortunately, North Carolina will only experience Brood XIX, a.k.a., the Great Southern Brood. We have not seen these 13-year cicadas since 2011.
Even better news, not all counties in North Carolina will see a cicada emergence. Based on historical data from the University of Connecticut, fewer than 20 North Carolina counties can expect to see cicadas in this year. From this data, we can predict that Surry County will not see Brood XIX this year. A map found at http://cicadas.uconn.edu/brood_19/ can be viewed to see where in North Carolina we can expect to see them.
Just what are cicadas? They are unique insects that are known for their song. Male cicadas sing out to find their mate. They do this by flexing their tymbals which are drum-like organs located on their abdomen. Only males can sing, and each cicada species has its own distinctive mating call. While one may think this is useless trivia, it becomes more relevant now that cicadas are visiting in high numbers. If interested go to visit https://www.cicadamania.com to hear various cicada songs.
There are three types of cicadas categorized by their lifecycle: annual, periodical, and proto periodical. Annual cicadas emerge every year. Periodical cicadas emerge after a long period of time; more commonly 13-years and 17-years. These cicadas are recognized into Broods that correspond to the series of years in which they will emerge. The protoperiodical cicada may emerge every year with some years being heavier in numbers than others.
Cicadas are sometimes referred by local residents as locust, but locust look a lot more like grasshoppers. Cicadas are a little different. The adults can measure up to 1-¼ inches long. They are wedge-shaped with black bodies and big red eyes. The veins on their wings are red as well. Cicadas emerge as nymphs and soon after they will molt into adults. Their trail can be identified by small circular holes in the soil with soil around the hole like a volcano. The nymphs will crawl up on trees, mailboxes, plants, etc. and remain until it molts into the adult. Thin, tan exoskeletons are left behind as the adults develop. Female adult cicadas lay up to 500 eggs during her lifetime. They slit small branches and deposits 10-25 eggs at a time in young trees or bushes. Young trees are weakened or killed depending on the severity of the damage caused by the cicada. The eggs will hatch in 1.5 — 2.5 months and then the next generation of nymphs moves underground and remains there for years.
Many farmers and homeowners have been asking questions about whether the upcoming cicada emergence will cause problems for their orchards and other trees. My best guess for us in Surry County is since Brood XIX is not scheduled for our location, we should not worry. However, others who are in the emergence area may need to be monitoring their young plantings of blueberries, fruit trees, brambles, grape vines, or other woody trees that are vulnerable to cicada injury.
Surry County blueberry growers did see significant injury from cicadas in 2020. So, naturally, they are nervous about even a whisper of periodical cicada visits. In 2020, the female cicadas cut slits into blueberry stems and branches to lay their eggs. While the blueberry bushes survived, there was extra pruning of the injured plants to bring them back to health and to protect against possible disease after injury occurred.
Even when cicadas emerge, chemical control is not recommended for homeowners. During heavy emergence years, it is better to schedule summer pruning after most eggs have been laid but before they have hatched. By waiting until egg-laying is finished, the damage will be spread over the largest area possible, and by cutting and destroying branches before eggs hatch, many nymphs will be prevented from entering the ground and feeding on roots.
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