Cicada Mania

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June 8, 2015

Brood IV, the Kansan brood, will emerge in 2015

Filed under: Brood IV | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 1:01 am

Brood IV will next emerge in the year 2032.

This page was last updated in 2015.

The most popular question is “how long will the cicadas last“. They’ll last as long as it takes for them to mate and run our of energy. They translates to about 4 weeks of singing. Good weather — dry, calm, and in the 80s — helps them finish their business quicker.

Here is a video that will show you how to identify the various species:

2015 Brood IV

Brood IV, the Kansan brood, will emerge in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, in the spring of 2015.

The cicada species that will emerge are Magicicada cassinii (Fisher, 1852), Magicicada septendecim (Linnaeus, 1758), and Magicicada septendecula Alexander and Moore, 1962. These periodical cicadas have a 17-year life cycle. The last time they emerged was 1998.

Counties:

Here is a list of the Counties where Brood IV periodical cicadas have appeared in the past. The data comes from the Cicada Central Magicicada Database. The bolded counties are the ones Cicada Central has specimens for, indicating that they’re more of a sure thing.

Iowa: Adair, Adams, Cass, Dallas, Fremont, Johnson, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, and Taylor

Kansas: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Cherokee, Coffey, Crawford, Doniphan, Douglas, Geary, Greenwood, Johnson, Labette, Linn, Lyon, Marion, Montgomery, Neosho, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Saline, Sumner, Wilson, Woodson, and Wyandotte

Missouri: Atchison, Barton, Buchanan, Caldwell, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Dekalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Pettis, Ray, Saline, Vern, and Worth

Nebraska: Cass, Douglas, Johnson, Nemaha, and Sarpy

Oklahoma: Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Comanche, Cotton, Craig, Garvin, Grady, Lawton, Mayes, McCurtain, Muskogee, Noble, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Rogers, Stephens, Tulsa, and Washington

Texas: Cooke, Denton, Fannin, Grayson, Kaufman, Lamar, Montague, Wise

Learn more about Brood IV:


1907 Map from Marlatt, C.L.. 1907. The periodical cicada. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology.

Marlatt 1907 04 Brood IV

95 Comments »

  1. Allison says:

    There isn’t many cicadas her in Wana,Wv. I don’t know if the population will grow on the 4 week of having them? But I can’t wait until their gone, so I can ride my bike, go swimming, and if anybody else lives around here let me know how long they will last and how much you see them at your house?

  2. David Rogge says:

    Shawnee County, Kansas. We are seeing a great deal of “Pre-flagging” damage, where the small branches are weak in an egg-laying area, and break very easily. Some breakage started last night in a storm. This is visible on anything woody in our yard, spirea, viburnum, barberry, honeysuckle, lilacs, etc, trees of all sizes. OK, not our deck, they left it alone,I think.

  3. Bill Prather says:

    Still many, many cassinii in Ashland, Nebraska area, a good number of decim and we think a few decula

  4. Kate says:

    Have one lonely one in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas. Hope it finds a friend soon!

  5. Bill Prather says:

    Are they still being seen in Nebraska? We want to come hear them if so. Thanks!!

  6. Chet P says:

    Took my family to Platte River State Park in Cass County, NE on June 20. I second Tlk’s comment. We had to shout at each other to be heard. I had no idea this cicada party was going on until we got there and opened the car doors. Never heard anything like that before – truly amazing and I’m so glad we experienced it, though my kids didn’t care for the barrage of cicadas invading our picnic lunch, landing on their clothes, hair, etc.

  7. Lori says:

    They arrived in early June in rural Nemaha County, between Auburn and Nebraska City. We are on 67 acres with a creek running through it, heavily wooded. Would guess hundreds of thousands. Some days we cannot have a conversation outside. Have seen a few Cicada wasps but not many.

  8. Tlk says:

    We were at Platte River State Park yesterday, Cass County, NE (6/16/2015) and the sound was deafening. Couldn’t even carry on a normal tone conversation outside! Thousands of them everywhere!

  9. Linda Henslee says:

    We have thousands upon thousands at Beaver Lake in Cass County, Nebraska near Plattsmouth. Birds are feasting, kids are using them as fishing bait. We first heard them sing 9 days ago. They were quite loud this past weekend. I will miss them when they are gone but won’t miss all the dead bodies that are around.

  10. Dave Rogers says:

    Twin Oaks WMA 2 miles SE of Tecumseh, NE in Johnson County. Millions I’m guessing. June 13th. Farther west than I expected a Periodic cicada.

  11. We have 50 in our tree out front of our house. We’re also close to a nature preserve, so we have to turn our television up to hear it. They came out about a week ago and haven’t quieted down yet. The birds are feeding well and we have lots of pieces on our front steps.

  12. Cojolaw says:

    Winfield Cowley county, Kansas they are thick!!!! Mostly west of the Walnut river. Thousands actually moving the tree tops.

  13. Michelle Hill says:

    Thousands here in southern Leavenworth county, Kansas.

  14. Debi Matson says:

    Noticed cicadas in my area today.June 2015 Ottawa County in Kansas. Numerous and loud.

  15. Wendy Callan says:

    They are everywhere. We live in Sarpy county by the Platte river. Sooo loud. As loud as the mower. Lol.

  16. ksgirl says:

    We have millions of them in Wyandotte, Kansas. Can’t walk outside without getting bombed by them. My dog stopped eating her dog food I finally realized she was eating them and was acting like a nervous wreck from the sound. The mating call is so loud and strong it’s putting me in the mood! Haha!

  17. Tina says:

    I live in Topeka, Ks. Shawnee county. They are very heavy on the far east side of town and on the far west. I’m centrally located and did not hear any in my yard until the last few days so they are spreading. But the edges of town and my parents south of here in Osage county Ks are being swarmed with them. I am terrified of them and can’t wait for them to go away! We’ve had large amounts of rain the last few weeks. Will this prolong their life or make them die sooner? I’ve read they need dry, hot conditions to mate and expend their energy. But it seems the rain makes them still and quiet which I prefer!

  18. Mollie Stirk says:

    Our yard in Lenexa has thousands of them. A problem for new puppy!

  19. Vernell Schutte says:

    Have seen about a dozen in our yard today (6-12) south of Verdon, Nebraska in Richardson county.

  20. Traci S says:

    We were at the Bonner Springs Walmart yesterday and there were piles of them being swept up in their landscaping department. The sound outside was very loud.
    We have plenty at our home in Western Shawnee.

  21. Emily says:

    I live in Atchison Ks and they are everywhere. One flies into me every time I leave my house.

  22. tori says:

    Ditto to Althea’s statement. S.e. Jefferson County tho. Loud as S***!! 🙂 Chickens and dogs are FEASTING tho! 😀

  23. Glynda says:

    Things are calming down here in Kay County OK, still have some screaming but tolerable lol Our yard has thousands of holes in it from them though ! I enjoy hearing the green ones sing during the summer but the red ones I can live without.

  24. Kris says:

    I live in Johnson County, KS and can hardly walk outside without stepping on one. Quite an increase in number the last week or so. The birds are having a cicada buffet.

  25. Althea Ostermann says:

    We are in Northern Jefferson County, Kansas, just north of Valley Falls and we have had “thousands” in our yard. They began hatching the end of May and it looked like something out of a science fiction movie! We’ve been here over 30 years and never seen anything close to this… the thousands of exoskeletons covered the pavement and yard like a hailstorm had occured. Our dogs feasted for days! This year is far more prolific than in ’98. I’ll be glad when I can hear again outside!

  26. nette novak says:

    All u complainers out there, let me tell u something. I moved to Portland Oregon in 2002 and there’s nothing I miss more than those sounds of summer. There’s not even real summer here. And everyone sucks, including the bugs.so go enjoy those cicadas that I’ll probably never hear again.I want nothing more than to be in the midst of all those empty moltings and that deafening sound of good real summer.

    1. Dan says:

      There are 32 species of cicadas in Oregon, but none of them emerge in the same numbers as Magicicada https://www.cicadamania.com/genera/usa.php?category=A&q=&qs=OR

  27. Tamie says:

    They are everywhere here in Manhattan, Riley County, KS. How long will they be here? I am ready for them to go…!

  28. Robert says:

    Many flew at me while mowing in northern Shawnee county.

    I’m used to the green ones, but these red one look mean!

  29. Aaron says:

    Hit over 50 on my commute home from Topeka to Auburn, KS last night. Hundreds of them flew from the grass at me as I was mowing last evening. After dinner, sitting on the deck, they were buzzing non stop.

  30. Love Kimmi says:

    Tons of them, everything is covered with them and whatever is dripping from them =/ my husbands truck is covered in something(nasty), go to work and right into the house as soon as I get home very annoying sound… in Everest in Brown County, Ks

  31. Patti Doolittle says:

    We have so many here at our place in Neosho Falls Kansas that it’s deafing to go outside.

  32. Kandi Whitman says:

    Come to my house in Bonner Springs. There is so many, they sing all night long, you can sit on my porch and they will fly on you and fly into you lol the sound is amazing though!

  33. Emily B says:

    We’re in SE Shawnee County (just north of the Wakarusa) and they’re thick as thieves on our property. We have thousands of them in our trees and they’re quite deafening! Watch your pups, because 3 of our 4 have gotten very sick from eating them (one had to be on antibiotics for a week).

  34. cicada lover says:

    Previous comment is from about 3 miles West of Augusta in Butler County, KS.

  35. cicada lover says:

    Have thousands in our trees here in Butler Co. They’ve been here for about a week. Very LOUD!!

  36. Fred Mundell says:

    We live in Pottawatomi County in Kansas and have literally thousands of Cicadas. It is driving our pets and us crazy in the early evenings. It truly seems like a Biblical plague. I have witnessed this cycle before but this seems extremely worse than previous accounts.

  37. Alison says:

    More than I can count in Manhattan, KS.

  38. Birdsnbeeekc says:

    There are millions of them in our tree canopy in Platte Co. MO. We measured the noise level on our deck at 82 decibels at noon and they are much louder now.

  39. Glynda says:

    They are finally starting to die here by my house in Kay County Ok, only about half as loud as they have been the last several weeks. Have to open the door to hear them now, used to I could hear them in the house with fan, ac and tv on lol Such a relief ! I like my quiet out here in the country !

  40. momo says:

    We’ve got millions of them in our yard in piper/legends area of kansas city, kansas.

  41. The Magicicada has been here in Shawnee County for several weeks, but they only began singing en force two days ago (June 6). My, they are LOUD! We live right by the Wakarusa River, so the trees are loaded with them.

  42. kristi edmonds says:

    Eureka Kansas, Greenwood County. My house is covered in these little guys. I love their singing. But they r driving me nuts. They are everywhere. If we go under trees to check pasture our 4wheelers scare them up n the trees come alive. So thick they r even getting in the house. Down the road a few miles there are hundreds dead under some trees… it smells horrible. Dont know why so many are dead in one spot but its bad

  43. Teresa says:

    They are covering our fruit trees in the orchard and have been here for a couple of days. We find their shells and pieces of their wings all over the ground. Brightly colored and very loud – Osage County, Kansas.

  44. Ashley says:

    We have swarms of the in our yard in Shawnee County, KS! The are so loud it gave me a head ache!

  45. Dana says:

    We have hundreds on our property in northern Cass County, Missouri. (South of Peculiar, Mo.)

  46. amy says:

    They are singing in full swing @ Waubonsie Park in Fremont County Iowa.

  47. David says:

    We have swarms of them on our property in Shawnee County Kansas.

  48. Patrick says:

    There are millions of them in my yard in south most sarpy county Nebraska.

  49. trisha says:

    There is literally hundreds of them on my property in jackson county! I cant wait until they are gone

  50. Emily says:

    I love about 20 minutes south of topeka kansas out in the country and my whole yeard is covered in them. I can’t walk outside withoit crunching some. My ears feel li me they are about to burst when I walk outside.

  51. Brandi says:

    We live in Mapleton Ks and all you can hear is cicada song!

  52. Glynda L says:

    I sure hope they go away soon, they are causing the leaves on my 60 yr old pear tree to die !

  53. Mona Cody says:

    Add Elk County KS to the list. We have LOTS!!

  54. Glynda L says:

    We have thousands of them in Kay County in Oklahoma ! Their all over everything ! And their screaming drives me insane all day. lol When will they go away ??!!

    1. Dan says:

      In about 4 weeks?

  55. Katie says:

    Hundreds of them in our yard and a lot fo exoskeletons on trees, driveway, fence, etc. Wellington, KS.

  56. Joe Schrag says:

    There are thousands on my 18 acres 8 miles south of Topeka. The noise last night was deafening and goes on 24 hours a day. Since I am 75 years old, this may very well be by last cycle.

  57. Michael Christian says:

    Yes. They are here in Yopeka, Ks. So loud from 4:00-7:30.

  58. Yeah I have like hundreds of them on my house and alot of exoskeletons just on my yard

  59. S. Hines says:

    Had hundreds of them emerge last night in NE Oklahoma. Very cool.

  60. Ardie Grimes says:

    in Jefferson County, Kansas

  61. Ardie Grimes says:

    We heard a few on Sunday, May 31st. Today (6/2/2015) there are thousands of vacant shells on the pear tree and live adults if you look closely in the branches.

  62. Beth Donovan says:

    Our woods are full of them in Northwestern Leavenworth County.
    The woods are deafening.

  63. Jo says:

    New Cambria in Saline county, Kansas. Thousands have emerged since 5/30/2015. Finally noticed singing today (6/1/15)

  64. Carolyn says:

    Saw lots in northern Shawnee County, Topeka, KS.

  65. Ashley says:

    We live in Leavenworth county in Kansas and have them.

  66. Carrie says:

    We do not have a single one is Cass county. But only a few miles away in Jackson they are abundant.

  67. Melissa Brown says:

    Just found a bunch at Platte River State Park (Cass County Nebraska). Looks like they haven’t been out long, moving slow & not singing yet.

  68. Joslin B says:

    All around my property close to Parker, KS in Linn Co.

  69. Gary Ogle says:

    sighted hundreds this am 5-30-15 in Richardson county Nebraska south of Dawson, NE about 5 miles.

  70. Sandy says:

    They are in Franklin County kansas, found one today and have a picture to prove it. Email me if you want it

  71. locust lady says:

    North topeka ks , lots on my front door and porch when i walked out one day

  72. Nathan says:

    There’s hundreds in Hand Park in Derby, KS. Sedgwick County.

  73. Bryan Forste says:

    They are everywhere in Johnson County, MO.

  74. patty says:

    visiting my dad and noticed thousands of them in his back yard. Took so many pics because i have never seen these kind of Cicadas. Blew my mind lol

  75. G Powell says:

    I see them at work in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas today, but not in midtown Kansas City, Jackson County, MO yesterday. What’s up?

    1. Dan says:

      They don’t appear everywhere — typically their coverage, like a poor cellphone carrier — is spotty. In heavily urbanized areas, where concrete has replaced forests — there will naturally be less of them or none at all.

  76. Marty says:

    Hundreds at least on our property in northern Franklin County, KS.

  77. Nancy Peek says:

    In Platte City, Platte County Missouri, they emerged yesterday morning. There were thousands of them on our pin oaks. They covered the trunks of the trees and were up in the trees and out on the limbs as far as you could see. A lot of them are deformed. There are piles of them under the trees. It does not appear that many of them will live.

  78. Walt says:

    We have three lots in a small town (Baldwin City) and there are more here this year than in any of the previous three cycles. The abundant numbers give me some concern as I may need to remove my bonsai trees until they are gone.

  79. Dotty says:

    Spotted them yesterday on my home. Love their red eyes. Riverside, Missouri. Platte county.

  80. William says:

    More in the back yard. They seem to be attracted to my pear tree. I have been knocking and/or washing them off of trees and branches. I find myself crushing them with my feet.i like the crushing sound.

    Wired?

  81. John says:

    They are heavy in Lake of the Forest (Bonner Springs). Especially on the north end.

  82. Sheila Bowers says:

    I’m in Kansas City, Jackson County, MO. They are all over my iris’s and daylilies today. I was amazed at the number of them.

  83. David rogge says:

    We have many thousands erupting at our property, just northwest of Topeka, Shawnee County, KS.

  84. I have seen ‘hundreds’? of cicadas & shells in my yard. Have never seen so many on my flowering plants. We were gone for nine days & just returned this AM. (05/24/15). Had not noticed any prior to leaving.

    1. Dan says:

      Hundredes sounds correct. Some areas can have as many as a million per acre.

  85. cd says:

    We have more than you can count in platte county mo.

  86. Cheryl Morrow says:

    We have tons of them here in our yard in Platte City, MO. Platte County.

  87. Alison R says:

    They’re in southern Leavenworth County full force this morning.

  88. Jeff says:

    Hundreds on my porch south Leavenworth. Chickens and dog are feasting.

  89. teresa says:

    There have been two “soundings” in my back yard this past week. I’m in Johnson County, KS.

  90. Roxan Murray says:

    I have about 30 of them on my porch right now in Olathe KS

  91. Debbie Godf says:

    My son-in-law said he found some in northern Leavenworth County, Kansas today. My other daughter said her chickens found some in southern Leavenworth County, Kansas. Thought you’d like to know. 😊

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