Brood V Cicadas will be make an appearance this summer for a few weeks.
Athens receives many visitors during the summer months, but this year the city will play host to an unusual guest.
A brood of cicadas is set to come to the eastern part of Ohio, particularly the southeast and the Athens area, a local expert said.
Cicada broods refer to the year and geographical area the insects emerge, according to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's website.
Once every 17 years, Brood V cicadas make an appearance, Ed Brown, an agriculture and natural resources educator at an Ohio State University extension in Athens County, said. The last time this happened in Athens was 1999 and it won’t happen again until 2033, he said.
The arrival of the cicadas probably will take place sometime between mid-to-late May and last until the early part of June this year, Brown said.
“You’ll notice (the cicadas) because you’ll start seeing them and then the males will start calling and then there will be a lot of vocalization going on,” Brown said. “And all of a sudden, one day you’ll notice that there isn’t anymore sound.”
Male cicadas sing to attract potential female mates, according to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and each brood has its own distinct song.
The cicadas will be in the region for about three weeks, which will likely be a “nuisance because they’ll be swarming" in the area, Brown said.
“All they're doing is reproducing,” he said. “This is their reproductive stage. They emerge as adults and they’re going to be going around finding mates and then the females are going to be laying their eggs in some branches and trees.”
The last time cicadas emerged in the area, Delaney Dixon, a sophomore studying global studies war and peace, said she was just 3 years old.
“I think that’s interesting that they come out every 17 years,” Dixon said, adding that the upcoming brood would unsettle her because of her aversion to bugs.
When they are not swarming around every 17 years, the cicadas can be found about eight feet below ground, Brown said.
“They’re feeding on sap from roots and trees down there and then they slowly grow and change,” Brown said.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="7a50ee9a-d35a-11e5-bc68-eb93daad0051"}}
Alyssa Skinner does not mind bugs, but she does have strong feelings about the loud noises cicadas are known to make while they breed.
“I hate that sound (cicadas make),” Skinner, a sophomore studying applied nutrition, said.
While some consider cicadas annoying, other animals find them appetizing.
"They’re considered a perfect food," Brown said. "So all the birds, a lot of different animals love to eat them.”
@megankhenry
