A Bevy Of Brood Bugs

I won't be breaking off branches during my walks any time soon, because the periodical cicadas have taken most of those branches over.

Exoskeletons

Cicadas are insects. There are two types--annual (which can be found worldwide) and periodical (which live only in the eastern and central parts of the United States). The latter are divided into two groups. There's a set that comes out every 13 years and another that comes out every 17 years. Both types emerge in broods, which are labeled with Roman numerals.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

In some parts of the country two broods are emerging in 2024. Not here, though. We're 'lucky' to have just the Brood XIX 13-year insects. That's more than enough for me, as there are millions in the Brood. When the nymphs emerge from the ground they climb up onto a vertical surface, shed their exoskeleton, and fly off in search of a mate. 

They are horrible flyers, and often run into things. Adult cicadas are somewhere between 1 1/2 inches and 2 inches long, so when they run into you you can definitely feel it. They're also noisy! To attract mates male cicadas buzz loudly, and large groups of them turn into a loud droning sound. Fortunately, our condo building is close enough to a connector road and the traffic sounds mitigate some of the drone.

Fortunately, the cicada event will only last a couple of weeks before all the mating and egg-laying is completed and the nymphs burrow down into the ground...until their next awakening.