The red-eyed cicadas of Brood X, after 17 years of hiding, will swarm the Washington metropolitan area next month and everyone from local wedding planners to park officials are bracing for the winged creatures’ arrival.
As many as 1.5 million cicadas can emerge from an acre of land. For at least a month, they will litter sidewalks with their molted shells and fill the air with high-pitched — and annoying — mating screams.
“People in our office are looking forward to it, but those planning outdoor weddings may not have such a sense of humor,” said Sue duPont, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Agriculture. “If you have an outdoor event planned between May and July, you may want to reconsider.”
The 1-inch-long flying insects are harmless. They do not bite or sting. They do very little damage to mature trees. In fact, the adult cicada doesn’t eat at all.
But, “people can expect a lot of noise,” Miss duPont said.
The adult cicada, who lives underground for 17 years, survives about six weeks above ground, after it digs its way from the damp and dark soil toward the sunlight. During its brief stay, it climbs a tree, sheds its skin, mates, lays eggs (if it’s a female) and dies.
But “they are clumsy flyers,” Miss duPont said. That means, the six-legged creatures will bump into joggers or pedestrians or buzz their way through open windows into homes or cars.
Outdoor house painters and wood stainers should postpone any outdoor projects until later in the summer since the wings or carcasses might get stuck on finished projects.
Those planning events like outdoor weddings should be prepared to find a cicada or two swimming in an unprotected punch bowl.
Wedding coordinator Carol Marino said last week she thought about creating a special cicada cocktail to serve up at this summer’s events, as a joke, of course.
“You have to keep a sense of humor about it,” said Miss Marino who runs A Perfect Wedding in Fairfax.
Three of her clients are planning outdoor weddings that will take place during the cicadas’ visit. Miss Marino said she is trying to come up with innovative ways to keep the insects from pestering the brides during the ceremonies.
Miss Marino’s biggest fear: a cicada getting caught under a veil as the brides walks down the aisle.
“My May and June brides are very concerned about it,” Miss Marino said. “But they are gutsy.” None of them has decided to move the wedding indoors, she said.
Miss Marino has other concerns: finding a cicada-free zones for wedding portraits and booking a band or DJ that has good enough speakers that can compete with the cicadas’ loud humming.
Miss Marino said all outdoor weddings will be required to erect tents with closed sides, an item that would cost the bride and groom an extra $1,000.
Miss duPont said local residents should do their homework so they are prepared for the arrival. “The key is to learn if there will be a lot in the area,” she said.
The cicada population will vary by area. Those neighborhoods that have been recently developed might see fewer cicadas than others where the soil hasn’t been much disturbed.
The life cycle of a Brood X cicada is 17 years. A female lays eggs in trees. Once the eggs hatch, the tiny nymphs fall to the ground, where they burrow down to the roots for the next 17 years. The next time the nymphs will see the sun is 2021.
There are many species of cicadas — some appearing annually, others every 13 years — but the 17-year cicada, or Brood X as they are known, are the most plentiful and the largest.
The last time Washington area residents saw these creatures was in 1987.
“They should be right near the surface just ready to come out,” said Anthony Vlahakis, integrated pest-management coordinator at the National Arboretum in Northeast.
The cicadas will appear suddenly in squads all over the eastern half of the United States, once the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees — sometime next month or in June.
Mr. Vlahakis said the arboretum will net about 20 young trees, which could be damaged when the females lay their eggs in the trees’ new growth. He said the mature trees will be fine.
Mr. Vlahakis expects the phenomenon to attract curious visitors to the arboretum. “People are looking forward to it. It is a novelty,” he said. “It really is something to behold.”
Even the Ritz Carlton in Georgetown plans to honor the invasion by leaving a chocolate shaped like a cicada on the pillow of guests who order turndown service. The hotel’s Degrees Bar also will serve a cicada cocktail.
The hotel also planned to offer some specially made cicada recipes this spring.
“But, the powers that be at corporate nixed the idea,” said Mark Indre, spokesman for the hotel. “They were afraid it would scare away guests.”
Some local parks are also awaiting the arrival.
The Strathmore Performing Arts Center in Rockville has scheduled a free July 29 outdoor concert titled Cicada Serenade: Love Song for Brood X.
“I thought it would be interesting to compose music around their sounds instead of competing with it,” said Shelley Brown, vice president of programming for Strathmore.
The downside is the cicadas most likely will be gone by then.
Miss duPont expects the cicadas to provide plenty of entertainment for everyone.
“We are trying to tell people to have fun with it. This will only happen a few times in a person’s life,” she said. “So have fun.”
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