WASHINGTON — Last year, Brood X cicadas emerged for the first time in 17 years. Trillions of bugs were everywhere along the east coast last summer. The bugs were seen here in the D.C. area taking over fences and gutters, delaying flights and even on dessert menus.
They emerged in May for their mating season, and had disappeared by August, bringing us all some much-appreciated peace and quiet.
We have bad news: Some cicadas may be around this year, too.
While not in the same numbers as the 2021 brood, some cicadas get off-cycle and can come up from below ground before or after the main brood emerges. These cicadas are known as stragglers, according to experts.
They may appear almost any number of years off-cycle, most commonly between one year and four years.
“There are not actually any full broods that are going to emerge this year,” said Dr. Floyd Shockley with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History’s Department of Entomology. “You may actually see some straggling Brood Xs this year, but it won’t be nearly what we saw last year.”
Dr. Shockley said it’s not clear why the straggler cicadas get the timing wrong, but thankfully it sounds like we won’t have to bust out our beekeeper suits in 2022.
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