Page 2 - Todd Witcher News Today

Word from the Smokies: The cicada-pocalypse is nigh Will Kuhn © Courtesy of Katja Schulz If you see this 17-year periodical cicada, please report its location through a community science platform such as inaturalist.org or cicadasafari.org. A mass emergence of a different brood of cicada will occur in 2025 and may be more visible in Asheville. Be on the lookout for a rare natural history event that’s unfolding right now! This month through mid-July, billions of 17-year peri...

Across the eastern and central U.S., these emergences are roughly organized into 27 or so “broods,” most consisting of multiple species of periodical cicadas. This summer’s cluster of emerging cicadas is called Brood X, which includes the pharaoh cicada (Magicicada septendecim), the dwarf periodical cicada (M. cassinii) and the decula periodical cicada (M. septendecula). Unlike the black and green annual cicadas that emerge later in the summer, periodical cicadas are predominantly black w...