By TESA NAUMAN
Tennessee Correspondent

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Some would say there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. Others will argue, however, there is one more: The emergence of cicadas every 13 or 17 years.

The 13-year cicadas, known as Magicicada, emerge every 13 years from their underground homes by tunneling to the surface, molting their exoskeletons and becoming adults who “sing” to find mates. This spring will see the return of the 13-year cicadas to states in the South and Midwest.

The loudness of the songs sung by males attempting to attract females bothers some humans who live close to where the cicadas emerge from the ground by the millions. “In some locales, the sound may seem deafening,” said University of Tennessee extension entomologist Dr. Frank Hale.

However, in other areas (probably with fewer cicadas), the songs of the lonely bachelor cicadas is music to the ears of some humans and a sign that spring is here.

According to the website Cicada Mania.com there are three broods of 13-year cicadas. The brood that will emerge this spring is called Brood XIX. In the past, Brood XIX has emerged in as many as 14 states.

The emergence covers the most area in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee. Other states, such as Georgia, Kentucky and North and South Carolina, should have strong emergences in limited areas. States such as Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Virginia will have very limited emergences.
Cicadas are harmless to people and animals, as wee beasts that cannot bite or sting. The damage they can cause is when females cut slits into woody plants and lay their eggs in the slits. Hale said they can cut from 5-20 slits in a single twig.

Each female can lay a total of 400-600 eggs and the egg punctures pose a threat to young trees.

“Apple, pear, dogwood, oak and hickory are their favorite hosts, but you can see the puncture marks on many tree species,” Hale says. “The punctures can damage young transplanted trees in nurseries and orchards, causing the twig tips to wilt and die.”

According to www.magicicada.org however, they don’t hurt any other plants, so gardeners shouldn’t worry about their plants, flowers and adult trees.
The lifespan of an adult cicada is a short one. Adult cicadas live for only four to five weeks. Eggs hatch six to seven weeks after they are laid. Then the newly-hatched nymphs, which are white and ant-like in appearance, drop to the ground and work their way into the soil.

Nymphs grow slowly and feed on sap from roots until the spring of their 13th year, when they emerge to start the cycle again. They leave behind the molted exoskeleton as a reminder of their visit every 13 years.