ERIN NEGLEY | Staff WriterThree years ago, billions of cicadas emerged from below, filling May with their sound.
Their group, Brood X, is the largest cluster of periodic cicadas, insects that spent years underground. While that brood was spotted throughout the mid-Atlantic, there weren’t many sightings in Lancaster County.
What’s the cicada forecast for 2024?
We’ll see cicadas but likely none from the massive periodic groups which emerge every 13 or 17 years.
Annual cicadas are expected to be around from July through September. These cicadas return every year.
Groups of periodic cicadas emerge at the end of their 17-year and 13-year life cycles, usually in May and June.
No periodic cicada broods are expected this year in Pennsylvania, according to Cicada Safari. Periodic cicadas will show up elsewhere. This spring, the 17-year Brood XIII will arrive in northern Illinois and the 13-year-old Brood XIX will be seen in southeastern U.S., as far north as Maryland as well as the Midwest.
In Pennsylvania, expect to see annual cicadas. There also may be straggler periodical cicadas from Brood XIV. The stragglers emerge when soil temperatures reach 64 degrees (usually late May) and often after rain.
The next periodical cicadas are expected to arrive in Pennsylvania in 2030 (Brood II), 2034 (Brood VI) and 2038 when Brood X returns.
In the meantime, you can report and track cicada sightings on the Cicada Safari app, created by cicada researchers.
Here are facts about cicadas, including what movies sample their songs and if they hurt people and plants.
