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Here’s the Buzz on Cicadas!

Did the Cicada Brood X Emerge During the Civil War??

Subtracting back by intervals of 17 years from their appearance in the spring of this year, the cicadas of Brood X, also known as the Great Eastern Cicada Brood, would not have shown up during the years of the Civil War. Their closest appearances would have been in 1851 and 1868. However, according to a University of Michigan 2004 source, “Union soldiers held at the Andersonville, GA, Confederate military prison relied on cicada choruses to mask the sounds of prison breaks” in 1864. What then explains this claim? Although Brood X is the largest and noisiest – its buzzing male choir can reach up to 100 decibels – it is likely the Georgia brood may have been a different cicada brood.

There are 12 different 17-year cycle broods, several 13-year cycle broods, and cicadas with shorter cycles, even annual appearances. The species and broods of cicadas also have different geographic distribution.

The cicadas of Brood X emerge in late spring as the final of several nymphal stages underground. The individuals–in the millions– climb vertical features, lose their last exoskeletons, emerge with wings, fly to higher elevations, mate, and ultimately the fertilized female deposit up to 400 eggs in several locations along tender tree branches. A month or more later the new larva drop to the ground and burrow in for feeding and development underground for the next 17 years.

Some find cicadas revolting. Some find them and their life cycle fascinating. For those who are skittish, here are a couple of close-up photos that might change your mind – the beautiful stained glass-like pattern of their delicate wings.

Circulating on the internet – June 2021; © Rebecca Holden Among Native Americans, the history of eating cicadas is welldocumented. A mid-20th century account tells of the Cherokee in North Carolina digging up cicada nymphs and frying them in pig fat or pickling them for later.

Mark Hay, Atlas Obscura, 2018 In his journal in 1800, Black farmer, astronomer, scientist, naturalist and author Benjamin Banneker concluded his entry on cicadas in this way: …[Although] their lives are Short, they are merry, they begin to Sing or make a noise from the first they come out of Earth till they die, the hindermost part rots off, and it does not appear to be any pain to them for they still continue on Singing till they die.”