Could this be the summer of the cicada?

REGIONAL — Last year, we heard about murder hornets as we dealt with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they never really materialized.

The early summer of 2021, however, is supposed to see the emergence of trillions of cicadas from the earth, ready to buzz their way into our back yards.

It’s said that cicadas emerge every 13 or 17 years, and the last big cicada summer in this area occurred in 2004.

This year’s batch is called Brood X, and is expected to be the largest brood in recent history.

Cicadas have an internal clock, which tells them to emerge from the ground at certain intervals and search for a mate.

The male cicada is the noisy one, producing a loud buzz in the trees to attract females. As the weather gets warmer, they tend to get louder. While they are quite large and noisy, cicadas are harmless and won’t bother humans, pets or property.

The name cicada comes from the Latin word for ‘tree cricket’. They are often referred to as a type of locust, but are not part of the locust family.

Juvenile cicadas live about a foot under the ground until the final year, when they burrow their way to the surface, climb a tree and shed their skin, emerging as adults. They usually live for about four to six weeks.

They are considered the loudest insects known to man and a swarm of them can produce sounds in the 120-decibel range.