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17 & 13 Year Periodical Cicadas

🛑 This page is strictly for Magicicada periodical cicadas, aka 17 & 13-year cicadas, aka "locusts" (read why they’re called locusts).This does not cover annual cicada species in North America and other parts of the world.

News

📅 Brood X will emerge in the spring of 2021.

Researchers need your help! If you see a cicada, please report it using the Cicada Safari App 📱, available for Android and Apple phones. See a Live Map of sightings.

Magicicada Brood Chart

The Brood Chart features the names of the broods (Roman numerals), their life cycle length, when they will emerge next, which states they’ll emerge in, links to Maps, the species that will emerge, and other information. Click the maps for larger, detailed maps.

When will they emerge?

📅 🌡️ Generally speaking, these cicadas will begin to emerge when the soil 8″ beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit (Heath, 1968). A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence. They typically emerge in May but have been known to emerge in late April or early June. It all depends on the weather.

What should you look for before they emerge?

Chimneys / Turrets

Look for cicada chimneys a.k.a. turrets. These are structures cicadas build out of the soil, positioned above the hole where they will emerge.

Holes

Look for holes the diameter of an adult’s finger near the root system of a tree. These are sure signs that cicadas will emerge in the area.

Cicadas Under Stones & Slates

You might discover some cicada nymphs while turning over stones or when performing landscaping chores.

What do they look like when they emerge:

Here is a great video of Magicicada nymphs once they have emerged from the ground:







This is a recently emerged nymph crawling up a tree. Note that its eyes are red.

Once cicadas nymphs have emerged from the ground, they will try to find a tree (or similar vertical surface), and then begin the process of shedding their old nymph skins (ecdysis), expanding their wings, and changing to their adult coloring. Watch this amazing transformation.

How to tell the difference between the seven Magicicada species:

The first way is based on the Brood. Take a look at the Brood chart above, and see which species appear with the Brood.

There are 3 basic types of Magicicada: “‘Decims”, “‘Cassini” and “‘Deculas”.

“Decims” aka Pharaoh Cicadas

There are three species in this category:

Magicicada septendecim (Linnaeus, 1758). 17-year life cycle. Broods: I-X, XIII, XIV. Magicicada neotredecim Marshall and Cooley 2000. 13-year life cycle. Broods: XIX, XXIII. Magicicada tredecim (Walsh and Riley, 1868). 13-year life cycle. Brood: XIX, XXII, XXIII.

Their songs are very similar, however, when M. neotredecim & M. tredecim emerge in the same location, M. neotredecim’s song takes a higher pitch. Sounds like “Pharaoh, Pharaoh!”.

Visual Appearance:



Male on left; Female on right.

M. neotredecim & M. septendecim have broad orange stripes with more orange than black on their abdomens.



M. tredecim, by comparison, have almost entirely orange abdomens.



M. septendecim also have an area of orange coloring between the eye and the wing (pronotal extension).

“Cassini” aka Dwarf Cicadas

There are two species in this category:

Magicicada cassini (Fisher, 1851). 17-year life cycle. Broods: I-V, VIII-X, XIII, XIV. Magicicada tredecassini Alexander and Moore, 1962. 13-year life cycle. Broods: XIX, XXII, XXII.

Their songs are essentially identical:

M. cassini Call and Court:

Note how it makes a quick burst of sound, followed by some rapid clicks.

Visual Appearance:



Female on left; Male on right.

M. tredecassin & M. cassini have black abdomens with virtually no orange at all. Orange stripes are possible in the mid-west (important to note for Brood IV).

“Decula”

There are two species in this category:

Magicicada septendecula Alexander and Moore, 1962. 17-year life cycle. Broods: I-VI, VIII-X, XIII, XIV. Magicicada tredecula Alexander and Moore, 1962. 13-year life cycle. Broods: XIX, XXII, XXIII.

Their songs are essentially identical:

M. tredecula Call:

Note the “tick, tick, tick” rhythm of the call.

Visual Appearance:



Female on left; Male on right.

M. septendecula & M. tredecula have stripes that feature more black than orange. Otherwise, they’re very similar to M. cassini.

How to figure out if they’re coming to your town?

Verify that they’re coming to your state. Check the Magicicada Brood Chart on this page. Check Cicada Brood Maps linked from this page to see if they’re coming to your general area. Check to see if they’re coming to your neighborhood. Good sources include: Check the Cicada Central Magicicada Database to see the counties where cicadas have appeared in the past. Ask someone who lived there 17 (or 13) years before. Old timers (hint: old timers usually call them locusts). Check your local Library for old newspaper articles. Check with a local college: contact the entomology, forestry, or agriculture-related departments. Your local national, state, county and town parks department (parks and rec). Some county parks departments plan events around cicada emergences. When will they emerge? They will emerge sometime in the Spring, for sure. They typically emerge once the soil 8 inches (20 cm) below the surface gets to 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celcius). At that temperature, they will start digging their tunnels to the surface. After a couple of days with above-ground temperatures near the 80’s F, and after a good rain, they will definitely emerge. Read this paper for more info: Thermal Synchronization of Emergence in Periodical “17-year” Cicadas (Homoptera, Cicadidae, Magicicada) by James Edward Heath, American Midland Naturalist, Vol. 80, No. 2. (Oct., 1968), pp. 440-448. Cicadas in sunny areas of your yard will emerge before cicadas in shady areas. Cicadas in the southern-most states will emerge before cicadas in northern states. You can try the Cicada Emergence Formula as well. If you don’t want them do damage your young / ornamental trees Spray them off with a garden hose. Foil around the trunk (to keep them from crawling up) (thanks Deborah). Insect barrier tape. Netting placed around & over the tree. “Insect barrier netting”. “Fruit tree covers”. Bagpipes (no joke, it worked at my friend’s wedding). Don’t use pesticide – we like all insects (especially pollinating bees). Are you scared of insects? Unlike some other insects & arthropods. cicadas are not poisonous or venomous.

Try a hat, an umbrella, a bee-keepers’ outfit, a suit of armor… They’re coming, and they’re going to ruin my wedding! Try our Cicada Wedding Planner

Questions about the Brood Chart

Question: Why do I have cicadas in my neighborhood, but your chart indicates that I shouldn’t?

Answer: Some possibilities: 1) they are stragglers, periodical cicadas that emerge too soon or late, 2) they are not periodical cicadas, but are a different North American species, 3) you live on a continent other than North America, in which case, try one of these pages, or 4) SURPRISE! The U.S. is a big place and some cicada populations have yet to be documented.

Question: Why don’t I have periodical cicadas in my area, but the information on your website indicates that I should?

Answer: Two possibilities: 1) they went extinct or otherwise died off in your area, or 2) they aren’t everywhere in a state – normally there are large gaps in their range.

Question: What are stragglers?

Answer: Stragglers can emerge 1 or 4 years early or 1 or 4 years late. Don’t be surprised if you see some periodical cicadas emerge earlier than planned this year. 17-year brood members are most likely to straggle 4 years early, and 13-year brood members are most likely to straggle 4 years late. Straggler probability chart.

Question: Why are there no Brood XI, XII, XV, XVI… ?

Answer: Perhaps you’ve noticed there are no Broods XI (11), XII (12), XV (15), XVI (16), XVII (17), XVIII (18), XX (20), XXI (21), XXIV (24), etc. Don’t worry about that. They never existed or are extinct (XI, XXI).

More Magicicada websites:

For much more information about 17-year cicadas visit Magicicada.org. The maps on this page link to that site. The Cicada Safari App is available for Android and Apple devices 📱. Use it to see where people are finding cicadas, and to report your own sightings. Check the Cicada Central Magicicada Database to see the counties where cicadas have appeared in the past. For more information about this database and cicada research in general, visit the Simon Lab website.

More Magicicada Information