Periodical cicada Brood X (10) will emerge in the spring of 2021 in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York (extinct or nearly so), Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington D.C.

The last time this brood emerged was in 2004.

If you see or hear them report them with the Cicada Safari app. Use the hashtag #BroodX or #BroodXCicadas on social media.

LATEST NEWS:

• April 18th: This spring, play Cicada BINGO.
• April 15th: Davy Shian is giving away copies of his excellent cicada book “Cicada: Exotic Views” to folks in the Washington D.C. area. Just visit in person Lulu Florist, 4801 St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda, MD. 20814 and request a copy. More info.
• April 14th: people are starting to see cicada chimneys, as well as “red-eyed” nymphs near the surface of the soil
• A Kickstarter that acutally looks good: Cicadas Don’t Scream Activity Book
• March 27th: an Fstoppers article Photographers Should Put This on Their Calendar Right Now: The Brood X Cicada Storm in Eastern U.S..
• February 20th: Gene Kristsky a new book about Brood X: Periodical Cicadas: The Brood X Edition.

Gene Kritsky has a new book about periodical cicadas & brood X. Check it out:

What, when, where, and why:

What are these cicadas?

Billions of these insects:

• Black, orange and red Cicada insects with a 17-year life cycle.
• Some people call them “locusts” but they’re really cicadas.
• Which species: All three 17-year species, Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini and Magicicada septendecula. How to tell the difference between the species.
• NOT the green ones that arrive annually.

When will these cicadas emerge:

Typically beginning in May and ending in late June. These cicadas will begin to emerge approximately when the soil 8″ beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence. Back in 2004, people began reporting emergences around May, 13th, but if the weather is warmer, it might start in late April.

Other tips: these cicadas will emerge after the trees have grown leaves, and, by my own observation, around the same time Iris flowers bloom:

Magicicada on an iris flower in Scotch Plains by Judy Lanfredi

Where will these cicadas emerge:

Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) has the most up to date maps. If you see a cicada and want to report it, the Cicada Safari App is available for Android and Apple devices 📱.

Places = cities, towns, communities, parts, etc. where people told us they emerged back in 2004.

• Delaware counties: Kent, Sussex
• Delaware places: Newark, Wilmington
• Georgia counties: Union, White. Maybe Gilmer.
• Georgia places: Blairsville, Ellijay, Norcross
• Illinois counties: Edgar, Clark, Crawford, Vermilion
• Illinois places: Marshall
• Indiana counties: Brown, Clark, Clay, Columbus, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, Dubois, Fountain, Gibson, Greene, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Montgomery, Orange, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Ripley, Spencer, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Vigo, Warrick
• Indiana places: Bloomington, Brookville, Clinton Falls, Dillsboro, Fishers, French Lick, Indianapolis, Lawrenceburg, Lexington, Martinsville, McCormick’s Creek State Park, Nashville, North Vernon, Skiles Test Park, Spencer
• Kentucky counties: Boone, Breckenridge, Bullitt, Carroll, Daviess, Gallatin, Grayson, Henry, Jefferson, La Rue, McLean, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Ohio, Oldham, Trimble
• Kentucky places: Big Bone Lick State Park, Covington, Dayton, Dry Ridge, Florence, Ft. Thomas, Georgetown, Hebron, Highland Heights, Louisville, Newport, Villa Hills.
• Maryland counties: Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince Georges, Washington
• Maryland places: Abingdon, Annapolis, Aspen Hill, Baltimore, Bel Air, Beltsville, Berwyn Heights, Bethesda, Bowie, Brooklandville, Brooklyn Park, Catonsville, Chevy Chase, Clinton, Colesville, College Park, Columbia, Cockeysville, Crofton, Cumberland, District Heights, Eldersburg, Elkridge, Elkton, Ellicott City, Fair Hill, Fallston, Forestville, Gaithersburg, Gambrills, Germantown, Glen Burnie, Glenelg, Greenbelt, Gwynn Oak, Hagerstown, Hanover, Havre De Grace, Hillcrest Heights, Hunt Valley, Hyattsville, Hydes, Jessup, Landover Hills, Laurel, Lutherville, Odenton, Oella, Owings Mills, Pikesville, Potomac, Randallstown, Reisterstown, Riverdale, Rockville, Severna Park, Sharpsburg, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Timonium, Towson, Wheaton
• Michigan counties: Hillsdale, Washtenaw
• Michigan places: Ann Arbor, Canton, Quincy
• North Carolina counties: Cherokee, Surry, Wilkes
• North Carolina places: Morganton, Murphy
• New Jersey counties: Burlington, Hunterdon, Mercer, Salem
• New Jersey places: Browns Mills, Harmony, Hillsborough, Holland Township, Kingwood Township, Lawrence, Merrill Creek Reservoir, Milford, Monmouth Junction, Morristown, Mt. Rose, Pennington, Princeton, Sourland Mountain, West Windsor Township. There’s an abundance of large parks and natural areas around Princeton.
• New York counties: Suffolk (but extinct, or nearly so, but still look for them – Newsday article)
• New York places: All on Long Island, but based on the 2004 emergence, they might be extinct. Some were seen in East Setauket, Connetquot River State Park, Ronkonkoma, Stony Brook. In 1987 they were seen in Shirley, Ronkonkoma, Bohemia, Connetquot River State Park, Oakdale, and Setauket. Please read this article!
• Ohio counties: Defiance, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Logan, Montgomery
• Ohio places: Anderson Twp, Battelle Darby Park, Bellbrook, Centerville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Defiance, Delaware, Delhi Twp, Dublin, Fairfield, Galloway, Hamilton, Kettering, Lewisburg, Lockland, Miamisburg, Olmsted Falls, Oxford, Springfield, St. Bernard, West Carrollton, West Chester
• Pennsylvania counties: Adams, Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Columbia, County, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Schuylkill, Somerset, York
• Pennsylvania places:Archbald, Artemas, Bedford, Carroll Valley, Coopersburg, Dinosaur Rock, Downingtown, Gettysburg, Green Lane, Kintnersville, Lake Nockamixon, Lancaster, Lititz, Malvern, Mertztown, Mohnton, Mt Gretna, Oaks, Oley, Perkasie, Perkiomenville, Phoenixville, Pittston, Quakertown, Red Lion, Roaring Spring, Solebury, Spring Mount, Stewartstown, Topton, Upper Black Eddy, Warwick Park
• Tennessee counties: Blount, Greene, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Roane, Sumner, Wilson
• Tennessee places: Copperhill, Farragut, Fayetteville, Knoxville, Oak Ridge.
• Virginia counties: Arlington, Clarke, County, Dulles Smithsonian National Aircraft and Space Museum, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, Shenandoah, Warren, Winchester
• Virginia places: Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Ashburn, Centreville, Chantilly, Clearbrook, Del Ray, Doswell, Dunn Loring, Fairfax, Falls Church, Franconia, Hampton Roads, Haymarket, Herndon, Lorton, Lovettsville, Manassas, Merrifield, Oakton, Reston, Springfield, Sterling, Vienna, White Post, Winchester.
• West Virginia counties: Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan
• West Virginia places: Martinsburg, New Creek
• Washington D.C.

More Location Tips:

• Reports of Brood X cicadas that emerged early in 2017.
• County data is from the Cicada Central Periodical Cicada Record Database. Cities come from May 2004 reports and June 2004 reports.
• Not sure? Ask someone in your community who lived there 17 years ago.

Example Emergence Timeline

This is an example of a typical cicada emergence. The exact dates will depend on the weather and density of the emergence in your location. Hot weather means an early start and quicker finish to the season — cool weather means a later start, and a protracted season.

Here’s an Excel version of the chart. Feel free to use it and adjust it to match your experience.

Oe watch the video version:

Why do cicadas:

Why do they stay underground for 17-years? The prevailing research suggests they’ve evolved a long, 17-year lifecycle to avoid predators that can sync up with their lifecycle & emergence. Why are there so many?! Research suggests that their huge numbers allow them to overwhelm predators, so enough of them will live on to breed and perpetuate the brood.

Should you plant?

If you’re planting trees, wait until July. If your yard doesn’t get cicadas by the first week of June, it’s probably safe to plant in June. Otherwise, you can use netting to keep cicadas from laying eggs in the branches of fragile trees. It’s the egg-laying that does damage. They usually avoid garden and flowering plants because their stems aren’t strong enough for an egg nest.

More facts and fun:

• Use the correct image when talking about these cicadas.
• Use the Periodical Cicada Emergence Checklist for the Maximum Magicicada Experience.
• All cicada questions that are frequently asked.
• A video to help you tell the difference between the species.
• The 17 Most Interesting Periodical cicada facts.

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

See a modern map, or the Live Map from the Cicada Safari app.