Cicada Invasion Nears NYC: First Insects Seen Just 35 Miles South

NEW YORK CITY – An invasion of billions of cicadas is nearing New York City.

The insects, which have spent 17 years growing in the ground, are already emerging just a few miles south of the city, according to scientists tracking them. They are expected to start appearing in Central Park and parts of The Bronx and Staten Island any day.

Cicada Safari, an app built by scientists at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati to watch the emergence of the Brood X cicadas, records sightings as they happen with photos submitted by users.

As of Friday, they had been seen as close as Edison, NJ – just 35 miles from Central Park. They will emerge further north as the ground warms – with a soil temperature of 64 degrees being optimal. Often they appear after rain, the Cicada Safari experts say.

Billions Of 17-Year Cicadas Set To Emerge In NY In 2021

The cicadas spend more than a decade underground feeding on tree roots before their synchronized emergence as young adults. The males sing with urgency, trying to mate before they die just three or four weeks later.

The females don't sing but lay as many eggs as possible – up to 600 — before they die. They split the bark on living tree trunks, branches and twigs, burrow in, and lay between 24 and 48 eggs at a time.

There are 15 different types – or broods – of the cicada though, which means a type is emerging somewhere on the east coast almost every year. The last time Brood X emerged was 2004. In New York, they were mainly found on Long Island.

They're harmless, but during big years of emergence they fly into people – and the noise they create is almost deafening.