Watch out Midwest U.S.: Brood XIII, aka, the Coming of the Cicadas

By William Atkins
Tuesday, 22 May 2007 02:09

Science - Climate

Brood XIII (also known as Brood 13, Northern Illinois Brood, Magicicadas [the genus name], and seventeen-year locust [although they are not locust]) is one of fifteen broods of 13-year and 17-year periodical cicadas that appear periodically throughout the Midwestern United States.

Every 17 years, Brood XIII (one of 12 different broods with 17-year cycles) cicadas tunnel by the billions to the surface of the ground, lay their eggs, and then die off within several weeks.

They are expected to number in the billions in northern and east-central Illinois, eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin, southern Michigan, and parts of Indiana bordering Lake Michigan and Michigan.

The Brood XIII cicada is a large, flying, black insect (about 1.0 to 1.2 inches (2.5 to 3.0 centimeters) long, about the size of a shrimp) with small red eyes that are wide apart on the head and yellow or orange stripes on the underside of their bodies. It usually has transparent wings with easy-to-see orange veins. They are from the class Insecta, order Hemiptera, family Cicadiadae, and genus Magicicada.

About 2,500 species of cicadas are found around the world—coming from the class Insecta, order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha, and superfamly Ciradoidea.

They are harmless, do not bite or bite, are not poisonous, are not known to transmit diseases, and are not considered a pest to humans.

They usually live in temperate to tropical climates. However, most of that time is spent underground about one foot (30 centimeters) into the ground so they can burrow into tree roots to suck up juices and sap. When they do emerge, ciradas flock to vertical objects, such as trees, so they can molt (shed their crunchy skins) and unroll their wings.

They usually emerge in the evening when soil temperature is constantly above 63 degrees Fahrenheit (17 degrees Celsius). Hundreds of thousands to millions of ciradas have been known to cover trees in one wooded acre. Their loud mating calls make them disliked by humans as male voices can often reach up to 90 decibels, which is similar to the sound of a blender.

For more information on Brood XIII, go to: http://tinymce.moxiecode.cp/mce_temp_url and http://science.howstuffworks.com/cicada4.htm.