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May 8, 2022

Magicicada stragglers found in 2022

Filed under: Magicicada | Periodical Stragglers — Dan @ 7:26 am

Here’s the latest map of stragglers from Gene for June 1st:

June 1 map

Gene Kristsky let us know that people are finding Magicada stragglers and reporting them on iNaturalist. It looks like most of the stragglers are in the Brood XIX area currently, but as temperatures warm, we might see others from other Broods.

Be on the lookout in 2022 (or any year)! Any place you see a red dot is a possibility. Even central Massachusettes (former home of Brood XI) and Ontario — maybe so.

Possbile Straggler Locations

Straggler-related facts:

What is a Magicicada:
A Magicicada is a genus of cicada that lives in the United States that typically emerges in 17 or 13-year cycles depending on the species.

They look like this:
Brood X header

What is a Brood:
A Brood is a numbered group of Magicicada cicadas that emerge in a specific series of years.
Example: Brood X (X is the Roman numeral for 10) emerges every 17 years, i.e. 2021, 2038, 2055, etc.

What is a Straggler:
A Straggler is a Magicicada that emerges earlier or later than anticipated.
Example: If a Brood XIX (13-year, next due in 2024) cicada emerges in 2022, we can say it is a straggler that emerged 2 years early.
Stragglers that emerge earlier than expected have also been called “precursors” (Marlatt 1898). I also call them “pioneers”.

24 Comments »

  1. Ruth says:

    We live 1 mile north ofUmatilla national forest in Washington state. My husband (born in KY) recognized the sound of the cicadas.
    He has lived in WA for 68 years and he has never seen or heard the cicada.
    Why are we bombarded with cicadas this year?

    1. Dan says:

      Sounds like a proto-periodical cicada like Platypedia putnami putnami (Uhler, 1877) that emerge in large numbers on occasion, but not predictably like periodical cicada that emerges after a specific number of years. I’ve read that weather conditions — like heavy rains — or overcrowding can stimulate some cicada en masse.

  2. Debbie Vincent says:

    We found our first locust this morning he’s alive,we have him or her in a jar. Tell me are the locusts coming ?????????????

    1. Debbie Vincent says:

      Pennsboro,West Virginia ????????????????

      1. Dan says:

        Not this year.

  3. Vineland New Jersey. I found my very first Cicada in my yard. Huge one. Unfortunately dead. I’m hoping to hear one and find one alive.

  4. Tima says:

    I sat on my porch today and the cicadas are singing loud too in my yard. I love the music they make it reminds me of summer in the afternoon sipping on some tequila. Summer mood for sure ????????

    1. Debbie Vincent says:

      Found my first one and put it in a jar,I love it when they sing”the woods are my backyard”????

    2. Debbie Vincent says:

      Found my first one and put it in a jar,I love it when they sing”the woods are my backyard”????

    3. Debbie Vincent says:

      Found my first one and put it in a jar,I love it when they sing”the woods are my backyard”????

  5. Toni Privette says:

    It sounds like their loud singing here in York South Carolina!

  6. Meghan S. says:

    I just found 2 dead cicadas today in southern Texas. One at my home, and one on the ground at my son’s daycare. Thanks for the helpful info!

  7. Tom says:

    I was just in Western MD last week (end of July) and noticed a lot of lead damage similar to what I saw in my area (Southeastern PA) in 2021 when Brood X emerged. Very interesting.

  8. Nik says:

    Thank you all for the Cicada knowledge ????!! Anyway to upload a pic here. Very curious to know if I made friends w/ a Really Big Annual Cicada or something more “Brood”??

  9. Reed Wilson says:

    Each night around 9:30 I go out and help the Cicadas find their way across the lawns and sidewalks to get to my big tree in my yard. 3 nights ago=5; 2 nights ago =7; and last night 5 again but I went in early. I have loved and helped these friends since I can remember. THe police, while driving by on patrol, use to ask me if I had lost something as I will walk the lawn with a flashlight. After explaining and having the word passed in their department, they just slow and give a friendly nod. I work on a ship, so I make sure I take the summers off in order to be here for their emergence.

  10. AJ says:

    I’m in Upper Marlboro, Md. They are definitely out here! I found a shell on my car. And this brood is very active at night.

  11. Julie says:

    We (people and dogs 🙂 have found 8-10 cicadas in our yard this past week (end of June/beg of July) in central IL.

    1. Dan says:

      Here’s a list of the common cicadas of Illinois with images.

  12. Karen. Smith says:

    Had a cicada on my porch screen today, July 1, 2022. Burlington IA

  13. Jean G. says:

    I had cicadas in my yard (big oak trees) the week of June 20, 2022.
    They were probably out the 2 weeks before when the temperatures were 98+. I did not go outside those two weeks. The cicada noise seems to have faded this week~ plus this week was much cooler. I live in Simpsonville SC.

  14. Michelle says:

    I live in Northern Utah and just found one of these in my yard. Is this unusual for my area?

    1. Dan says:

      Since in you are in Utah, it’s probably a different but similarly colored cicada, like Okanagana rimosa rimosa (Say, 1830) aka Say’s Cicada or Platypedia putnami putnami (Uhler, 1877)

  15. Cheryl says:

    I was a witness to a cicada coming out of its exoskeleton last night. I watched it struggling to find a place to grab onto, since it couldn’t, I placed my gardening glove out on the dirt. I seen it finally comfortable then I let it be. About 40 minutes later, I looked at it and it was almost fully emerged but struggling on its back. I held a twig for it to grasp as it finally shook off the end of its rear and began crawling. I have photos and a little video. I’ve only lived in Georgia for 9 weeks so this was very interesting and exciting to witness.

    1. Jasmine says:

      That’s awesome Cheryl. Sounds like a good omen.

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