Millions of cicadas expected to swarm Dayton within weeks

last updated 03/18/2021
Millions of cicadas expected to swarm Dayton within weeks

Millions of cicadas are due to swarm the Dayton area this Spring, after 17 years underground.

Millions of cicadas expected to swarm Dayton within weeks

Millions of cicadas from brood IX will emerge this Spring after 17 long years underground, swarming large areas of the U.S., including Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. The cicada class of 2004, whose cacophonous mating song is loud enough to drown out jet planes over Wright-Patt is expected to take over Dayton airspace beginning around mid-May.

Cicadas, who only live for a mere four to six weeks, spend much of their lives underground, and emerge in different parts of the country at different times–sometimes annually, and sometimes periodically, every 13 or 17 years to mate.

However, periodical cicadas occasionally get the timing of their otherwise highly synchronized life cycle mixed up.  Back in 2017, a loud brood of the dumb critters emerged in Ohio four years early.

Apart from being noisy as hell, cicadas are not a threat to humans.  They don't bite or sting, nor do they carry disease.  Cicadas are also beneficial to ecosystems. They prune mature trees, aerate the soil, and after they die, their decaying carcasses become excellent fertilizer.

For those planning Miami Valley cicada parties, just a few more weeks to go.

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