They're back! The cicadas, that is. In particular Brood XIV. After 17 years underground, the large, clumsy insects have started emerging to breed in parts of the United States, including Pennsylvania.
Michael Skvarla, an assistant research professor in the Department of Entomology at Penn State, explained that the buzzing sound you'll hear from cicadas is the males calling.
"They're attracting females to mate," he said. "And one cicada on its own can be fairly loud, especially if you're close to it. But you can imagine that thousands, tens of thousands of cicadas all calling at the same time can create quite a cacophony of noise."
Cicadas in Brood XIV may emerge in Pennsylvania counties including Blair, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin and Potter. If they do, it'll be fine dining for other animals.
"Periodical cicadas are great food for a lot of animals," Skvarla said. "Many birds, if they're big enough, will eat them. Small mammals will also eat them, things like squirrels, and so animals that can feed on periodical cicadas generally do much better in terms of rearing young."
That they're targets for hungry animals factors into cicadas' reliance on safety in numbers.
"If you're one cicada in tens of thousands, the chances that you individually are going to be eaten are pretty low, and so it's their strategy to come out in this giant mass. And there's just so many of them, the predators eat their fill and can't eat anymore, and that's what protects the bulk of the cicadas in the group," Skvarla said.
Cicadas are largely harmless to people and pets. But when the females lay eggs, it can damage newly planted or stressed trees. Skvarla said one option is to put temporary protection on young trees.
Otherwise, this could be a good year to enjoy the cicada symphony.
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