Cicadas 2021: Brood X starting to emerge for the first time in 17 years

Are cicadas here already

If you think you've already seen some cicadas in your yard, you very well may have.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - People across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia are already seeing signs of Brood X emerging – as many as 1.5 million cicadas per acre are expected.

Cicadas 2021 Map: Brood X starts to emerge in DC, Maryland and Virginia

"When the big tsunami hits in the middle of May, there won’t be sleeping for three weeks straight," University of Maryland Entomology Professor Michael Raupp told FOX 5.

The "tsunami" is officially being called Brood X, a once every-17-years event when a crushing number of cicadas emerge across the region, sticking around for about three weeks.

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"The thing that’s special about these guys is their bizarre strategy for survival," Raupp explained. "It’s called predator satiation. What that means is they are going to emerge synchronously in prime number years in numbers so massive they’re gonna fill the bellies of every predator that wants to eat them, and there are still going to be enough left over to perpetuate their species. How weird is that?"

Credit: Cole Coder of Falls Church

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It’s even weirder for some when you consider the timing. With those freshly-vaccinated people expecting to be out-and-about around the same time, Raupp said he’s actually gotten calls from several moms who were looking to throw long-delayed weddings on Memorial Day Weekend.

"I simply say guess what, do it, it’s gonna make it all the more memorable when you’ve got 1,000 uninvited guests, cicadas, at that wedding," Raupp recalled before adding that otherwise, the moms may want to wait until mid-June instead.

For more information about cicadas from the University of Maryland, you can click here.

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