How long will the cicadas be around? Map shows Brood XIV sightings on Cape Cod.
The cicadas are out in full force in one particular part of Massachusetts. The periodical insects known as Brood XIV are emerging on Cape Cod after 17 years underground.
Jennifer Forman Orth, the environmental biologist for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, is tracking and mapping cicada sightings.
"The emergence is mostly concentrated on the Upper Cape, so the towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, Sandwich, and the western part of Barnstable," Orth told WBZ-TV. "There was also a sighting up in Cohasset - people thought maybe the cicada hitchhiked on someone's vehicle, but there are records there from the last Brood XIV emergence in the early 2000s."
A map of cicada sightings
iNaturalist
The cicada noise
Orth just returned from a trip to Cape Cod to see the cicadas for herself. She reports that there were "thousands upon thousands" in the Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area in East Falmouth.
"We saw many of them emerging as fresh adults in Sandwich. And in Falmouth, where they had emerged a bit earlier in June, the adults were gathered in high numbers in many areas," Orth said.
Male cicadas are known for being very noisy when they emerge, using special organs to make sounds as loud as a lawnmower.
"Their calling was audible throughout Sandwich and Falmouth, it sounds artificial, almost like an alarm of some kind is going off in the distance," Orth said.
A cicada spotted on Cape Cod.
Jennifer Forman Orth
When will the cicadas go away?
Those living near the noisy insects want to know one thing: When will the cicadas go away?
Cicada expert John Cooley, a professor at the University of Connecticut, said cicadas started coming out in late May and early June. They only have a few weeks to "get adult things done," he explained, like mate and lay eggs before they die.
Cooley said that once cicadas are out in force, they'll be around for about three to four weeks, depending on the weather. That means most should be gone by early July.
Report cicada sightings
The public is encouraged to submit reports and pictures via the iNaturalist website.
Carrie Seltzer, the head of engagement at iNaturlist, says "community science" can help monitor the cicada emergence in real-time across the region.
"Since this phenomenon only happens once every 17 years, each observation on iNaturalist is an important record for science to understand where they are found now, since it may change in 17 years," she said. "Anyone can take a photo of a cicada and post it to iNaturalist to contribute to science."
A group of cicadas in Falmouth.
Jennifer Forman Orth
Orth said everyone has a smartphone now - something that wasn't the case during the last Cape Cod emergence in 2008 - and it's a perfect opportunity to collect data on the unique creatures.
"Technology affords us the chance to help scientists better understand periodical cicadas," she said. "The observations people make could help scientists understand things like how land use changes impact these insects, how cicada emergence impacts birds and other wildlife, and how their life cycle impacts tree growth."
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