Look out! Periodical cicadas are coming back

Maybe you're familiar with the dog-day cicada that sings in late summer. It happens every year.

Or perhaps you remember traveling into the Ozarks or to St. Louis in May or June of 1998 and having your ears accosted by the loud buzzing drone of thousands of singing insects. Well, this year those in Cape Girardeau and the Missouri Delta have the opportunity to hear this loud buzzing drone of without traveling as far. You may hear it as close as your own back door.

Not only are these small creatures loud, they have an amazing life history.

Imagine living underground for 13 years at a time, then on the 13th year emerging from a hole in the ground to attend a huge party with thousands of friends, siblings, and cousins that went on for a whole month. That's the life of a periodical cicada.

Singing their song

Periodical cicadas are one of Missouri's 'singing' insects along with katydids, grasshoppers, and crickets. There actually are several types of cicadas, but this type is distinctive for several reasons.

Periodical cicadas are orange and black. Other cicadas are typically green and brown. The periodical cicada emerges in late spring, whereas other cicadas emerge in late summer. The periodical cicada does not emerge every year. Any particular 'brood' may only emerge once every 13 or once every 17 years. Dog day cicadas are heard every year. And finally, no other cicada emerges in the numbers that the periodical cicada does.

Cicadas are insects related to leafhoppers and aphids. They feed on plants, mostly by drinking sap. They spend a large part of their life cycle underground, feeding on the sap of tree roots, but then they emerge, breed and lay eggs, and the adults die. The young cicadas hatch from eggs, drop to the ground, and then go back underground to feed.

Male cicadas make a buzzing call to attract females and the female cicada answers by flicking her wings, which also makes a buzzing sound.

Periodical cicadas have distinctive body colors. Their bodies are black, but in contrast to that, their eyes are bright red. Their legs are orange, and the veins in their wings are orange.

Periodical cicadas typically emerge in mid-May, so you may start seeing them this week. The last time the periodical cicada emerged over this range was in 1989. This particular group or 'brood' as they are known, is a 13-year brood. That means it takes them 13 years to go through their life cycle and develop into an adult cicada, ready to emerge and reproduce. This brood's range covers Southeast Missouri, Eastern Arkansas, most of Mississippi, as well as Western Kentucky and Tennessee. Some broods of the periodical cicada (in different geographic regions) take 17 years to complete their life cycle.

They won't hurt you

While these insects emerge in the thousands, and make a very loud noise, they are not harmful to humans. They do not bite or sting. They do damage the small branches and twigs of trees. The female cicada makes slits in the branch and inserts her eggs there. This causes the branch beyond the eggs to die and fall off. If you planted a valuable fruit or ornamental tree this spring, you should take preventive measures to prevent twig damage to your tree. Visit muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/pests/g07259.htm for more information.

Periodical cicadas provide an abundant source of food for many types of wildlife. Birds, small snakes, raccoons, and other types of wildlife take advantage of the food supply. Even fish will change their feeding habits during the emergence of the periodical cicada.

So get ready. You have the opportunity to witness this 13-year colorful and loud event.

Janeen Laatsch is a natural history regional biologist with the Missouri Conservation Department.