By Cynthia Bracken
Some call them loud, a nuisance. Pests, they say.
The cicadas are coming, and no one seems to be looking forward to their arrival.
One newspaper headline asked: “How long will they be around, and when will they leave?” while another bemoaned “When will they go away?” But I, for one, cannot wait!
This year, for the first time in over two hundred years, according to U.S. News and World Report, two large cicada broods—brood 13 and 19—will emerge from the ground simultaneously. This is not happy news to those who find their singing simply ear shattering. Since there will be two broods, their symphony will be even louder than ever, apparently beating out the volume of the lawn mower!
But I say we welcome them. Cicadas are harmless to humans, and there are many reasons to like them. Cicadas are an essential part of our web of life, and they are sure something to behold. They immerse you in sound while they play out the most primal act of living—the mating ritual. Their moment in the cycle of life is one loud, raucous party that ends with their bodies littered across the forest floor. They are a wonder!
I actually enjoy the sounds of cicadas, and I marveled at their last “invasion” here in New York in 2013. Yes, it was loud, but it was beautiful, too. To me, the sound is like a strange, primordial orchestra, and I want to hear it. That spring, I continuously looked for opportunities to be close to them and listen to their song, and luckily, here in the Hudson Valley, there were plenty of spots. While walking in the wooded areas where they had gathered, it was fun to spot their fiery orange accented bodies and see them buzzing through the air.
The cicadas are set to be seen in about 14 states this summer, and some have already begun. They won’t emerge at once but will decide when they want to come to the surface when the soil temperature feels right, and will only stay in one given area for four to six weeks. Why not catch it?
They come to the surface of the earth for what is really one short, miraculous moment.
Males will sing their hearts out while females select their favorite singer. They mate, lay their eggs, and then the adult cicadas are no more. After about two months, the eggs hatch, then the nymphs fall to the ground, sink into the soil, and the cycle starts again.
Cicadas throw big, wild parties, but they are good neighbors, too. The shells the adults leave behind when they molt can be used in medicinal ways, including the treatment of sore throats and skin irritation. In addition, as the cicadas tunnel to the earth, they become natural soil aerators, Their holes create conduits for oxygen, water, and nutrients to be absorbed into the ground and used by several other organisms, such as trees. In addition, the eggs they lay in tree branches actually prune the trees! By making some of the branches fall off, they encourage more growth. Even when the cicadas themselves die, they become food for other living things, and since they die so close to the tunnel they emerged from, they actually nourish the very trees that fed them as nymphs (nymphs live off a liquid diet of xylem fluid from tree tissue and roots).
So, there are many more reasons to welcome the coming of these “pests.” Even scientists have been looking to them to solve human-sized problems. Their wings are a veritable engineering marvel since they can self-clean, kill bacteria, and repel water. Both chemists and engineers seek to harness properties like that for both disease control and better solar panel technology.
The 2024 cicadas will not be seen in my part of New York this year, but news reports say we will see Brood 14 in the spring of 2025. Until then, I will be waiting. And listening.
Cynthia Bracken lives in New Paltz, NY. She spends her free time exploring the many wild places that grace the area. She is a writer and lover of nature.