Brood X Cicadas Are Coming Back To Georgia For The First Time In 17 Years

Cicadas are coming back this summer after their usual 17-year hiatus, and Georgia is one of the states that’ll be buzzing with them soon.

Specifically, Brood X cicadas are about to make a comeback since the group last emerged in 2004. Georgians should expect to start seeing them next month through June, and hearing their sounds as loud as lawnmowers. Many times, they start to come out when there’s a warm rain and the soil is at 64 degrees, WSB-TV reported Thursday (April 15).

Here’s what the Georgia Department of Natural Resources says of the upcoming Brood X cicadas:

“Although at first glance they look like nothing more than a smaller version of the annual cicada, they are much different. If you take a close look at one you will immediately notice that it sports bright red eyes, a black head, and bodies and transparent wings fringed with orange…Like the annual cicada, it, too, lives in backyards and forests across much of the state. However, it only makes its presence known when it emerges from the ground. At such times, usually under the cover of darkness, annual cicadas appear in mind-boggling numbers. As many as 1.5 million per acre have been recorded! However, typically their numbers range from tens to hundreds of thousands per acre.”

The Department of Natural Resources also notes that cicadas don’t bite or cause harm to plants.

Photo: Getty Images