By KATIE WISELY
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Scientists say mid-May is going to be an insect eruption after millions of rare Brood X cicadas are set to emerge.
They’ll cover trees, fence posts and signs.
University of Indianapolis biology professor Dr. Marc Milne says the cicadas will rise from the ground and breed the next generation. But they’ll only stick around for a two to four weeks.
Dr. Milne says the insect isn’t poisonous, but your pet shouldn’t eat them. He says if you’re about to plant small trees, you should probably hold off. The female cicadas cut slits in the stem of trees and that’s where they lay their eggs. This could kill the branches and cause wilting.
But it’s the noise that will be most apparent.
“It’s going to get quite loud I think, especially if you have a lot of trees on the property and maybe in forests where you have a lot of deciduous trees,” Dr. Milne said. “We don’t get to see this very often and I think we should take a little more time from our busy schedules to appreciate these interesting natural history events that are occurring around us and the critters all around us that live in this world like we do.”
Not only will cicadas take over Indiana, but also surrounding states like Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio.
The last time this type of cicada made an appearance was 2004 and the next generation won’t surface until 2038.