Millions of cicadas have emerged in Ohio. How many eggs can a female cicada lay? What to know
There are always so many cicadas, but how many eggs do female cicadas lay? Let's take a look at what we know.
There are millions, if not billions, of cicadas flying around Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and several other states right now. How are there so many cicadas when they emerge? Because the females are egg-laying machines.
Female cicadas can lay up to 600 eggs, inserting them into the branches of trees and shrubs with their ovipositor (egg-laying organ), according to the University of Massachusetts.
When cicadas emerge, you'll likely find them on trees. Adult cicada males make their well-known deafening 'buzzing,' or singing sound, to attract females to mate. Up to 10 weeks later, after the eggs hatch, the nymphs drop to the ground and dig into the soil, feeding on host plant roots.
Their underground stages will mostly go unnoticed until the next time adult cicadas emerge.
Whether or not you enjoy this biological phenomenon, only one brood of cicadas has popped out this year. Not two, like last year.
In 2024, two periodical broods appeared. Brood XIX, which has a 13-year life cycle, and Brood XIII, which has a 17-year life cycle overlapped in parts of the Midwest last year, according to Cicada Mania.
The lifespan of cicadas depends on the brood and whether they are annual or periodical species.
Brood XIV is one of 15 recognized broods of periodical cicadas that emerge every 13 or 17 years after living as nymphs underground. It is also one of four broods that appear in the Buckeye State.
Once male and female periodical cicadas have mated and the latter has laid eggs, the insects die after spending only a few weeks above ground. That can be anywhere from three to six weeks after first emerging.
The Brood XIV cicadas won't be crawling and flying around only in Ohio this summer. If you plan to take a summer vacation in another state, you may find them in:
Georgia
Indiana
Kentucky
Massachusetts
North Carolina
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati swarmed by cicadas. How many eggs can a female cicada lay?
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