Pennsylvania is experiencing the 17-year return of cicadas in the summer of 2025!
We tend to forget them in intervening years. But without fail, every 13 and 17 years various parts of the United States are visited by hordes of emerging cicadas — which have been sitting quietly where they were laid by females more than a decade earlier.
They are found in urban as well as farm and forested areas, at locations where trees existed 17 years ago as a food source for the nymphs.
What is a cicada?
They are in the Cicadidae family of insects. The species pictured is Magicicada septendecimthe, native to the US and Canada and often called the 17-year locust. (There are more than 3,000 species around the world, including 190 in North America.)
A few species reproduce annually, but the periodic ones have the most impact on humans, for sure, and are the most fascinating as they spend most of their lives underground and come back to many areas of the country with a very noisy entrance.
Females lay their eggs in slits in tree bark and when they hatch into nymphs, they fall to the ground and burrow into the underground roots — where they feed for the next 17 years.
The first sign of their return is usually the molted shells they discard around host trees. Upon emerging, they generally climb up a tree trunk, search for a mate, lay eggs, and die, leaving those eggs to create the next emergence.
Do they have an impact on farmland, crops, or other wildlife?
Farmland is not harmed by cicadas. They are a big source of food for many species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and other insects. Anglers can follow the broods and get a good catch where fish are feeding on cicadas. If so inclined, humans can also eat them. Ohio State University delves into this great source of protein.
Only newly planted trees could be at risk, although larger ones could have a small, replaceable dieback at the tips of branches.
Are there any dangers for humans?
They have no biting or stinging organs to cause harm. At most, they are clumsy at flying and could bumble into someone, startling them.
How loud are they … really?
The males produce all that noise as they look for mates to attract. They have been reported at 80-120 decibels — even louder in large swarms — and equivalent to the decibels of a motorcycle or vacuum cleaner up to the racket of a chain saw. Clearly, therefore, at the upper limit of human comfort.
How long are they around?
Cicadas tend to be most active during the day, especially when it is hot. They emerge gradually from the ground and can be in a vicinity for 4-6 weeks. Each individual lives 3-4 weeks.
Is it a cicada?
If you want to confirm your observation:
1) Download the free “Seek” application (a part of iNaturalist, this app identifies plant and animal photos based on data from the growing iNaturalist database.)
2) Take a picture of the insect. The database will confirm what you saw, and it will also confirm the location. Findings on Seek are personal and not shared publicly as are those on iNaturalist, making the app safe for anyone to use, including children.
Deepen Your Cicada Knowledge
• The Nature Conservancy has useful information on cicadas, including a great map of the emerging 13- and 17-year broods expected in parts of the eastern US from now until 2038.
• There is a learning module called Cicada Safari where individuals can photograph and report cicadas and contribute to citizen science.
• Listen to the sound of cicadas.
• Learn more in this 7-minute video from The Face of Appalachia: When the Trees Begin To Sing.
• Watch what happens in your own patch of Centre County. An avid angler just in from an evening on Penns Creek told me that experienced fishermen in the Centre County area say that “the cicadas will come with the full moon.” We’ll have to see if this is local mythology or accurate prediction!
~ By Linda Friend, CCFT Trustee, Secretary & Contributor