New Generation Of Cicadas Set To Emerge After 17 Years Underground

A generation of cicadas is going to cause quite a stir in parts of the Northeast United States when they finally emerge - after spending 17 years under ground, writes CNN.

Billions of the singing insects will appear in Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia in the coming weeks and months as the soil they are currently residing in reaches temperatures of 64 degrees Fahrenheit and above, writes the website Cicadamania.com.

Southern Ohio could see the newly hatched cicadas this month - but it will more likely occur in May, Ohio State University professor Dave Shetlar, colloquially known as "The BugDoc," told WBNS.

The insects are part of a generation of cicadas known as Brood V. The last brood hatched in 1999 before the offspring went underground in 1999. Overall, there are 14 broods that emerge in different regions on 17-year hatch cycles, according to cicadamania.com.

In some parts of the world, cicadas are thought to bring good luck. Shetlar said that he had been receiving phone calls from resorts eager to know when the cicadas will emerge from their underground burrows.

"They have visitors that are coming from China and Japan and European countries and want to come and experience the cicada emergence," Shetlar said.

After entering the world above the ground, adult cicadas only have a life expectancy of between two to four weeks. They spend much of their short life above ground attracting a mate and breeding.

While their song may prove irritating to some, it is how male cicadas attract a mate.

After completing the mating ritual, the female cicadas then find a suitable tree branch to lay hundreds of eggs. After an incubation period of a few weeks, the eggs hatch and babies find their way to the ground where they will lay until 2033.

The next brood, known as Brood VI, is scheduled to emerge next year in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.