By Cameron Thompson
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HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – There’s a familiar buzz in the air in some parts of Virginia as cicadas emerge from the ground, but this year there’s a little more noise than just the annual one.
Virginia is one of the parts of the country where insects from the group known as Brood XIX are also emerging. They only do it once every 13 years. At the same time, further west, Brood XIII cicadas are emerging on their 17-year cycle.
“And it’s the first time in almost 200 years that these two generations have emerged together, which is great,” said Timshel Purdum, Virginia C. Ellett Assistant Director of Education at the Science Museum of Virginia. “From someone who loves insects, they are actually beautiful. They are large, black, and have bright red eyes. You can’t confuse them with anything else. And they make these amazing sounds. “They are actually the loudest insects in the world.”
Purdum said annual cicadas have more green and brown coloration.
He added that one of the theories for why some hatchlings emerge only at 13 or 17 years old is because there are so many animals that eat them, that they come out in massive numbers to overwhelm predators to the point that some survive and procreate.
Among the areas that saw Brood XIX emerge locally was Hanover County. Purdum said they encourage people who see cicadas to report them on apps or websites like iNaturalist or Cicada Safari, as it will help scientists track whether the population remains the same from last time or has declined, in part due to the destruction of their habitat.
“Cicacadas in general, but especially periodical cicadas, are affected by many things that humans do. “We are seeing a decline in numbers as these animals emerge,” he added. “You can imagine an animal living at the base of the roots of trees for 13 to 15 years, when those trees are gone and you put them in yards and parking lots, they no longer exist. Historical records there are millions and millions of these things. But as we change the landscape, those numbers could change dramatically. But that goes back to doing citizen science and collecting that data so that we scientists can know.”
Something to look for in these cicadas, Purdum said, is an indication that they have been infected by a fungus that turns them into “flying salt shakers of death.”
“One of the interesting things about nature is that everything feeds on something else. And there are these really interesting fungi, a type of fungus if you will, that specifically infects cicadas. And for the males, it turns their rear end, the butt, so to speak, into a fungus, while the male flies around, shakes off the fungal spores, and can infect all the other cicadas to spread the fungus. And, in fact, it prevents them from mating. “They can’t have babies anymore, but instead they fly around spreading mushroom love.”
Purdum said people have nothing to fear from the bugs and encourages them to go look for them while they are away.
“They are really impressive creatures.”
If you want to learn more about cicadas, the Virginia Science Museum has created an at-home STEM kit so you can do just that.
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