Cicadas: Early Sightings But Still Too Cool

    Per USDA soil readings, temperatures have been dropping into the mid to upper 50s overnight at 8 inches underground - where the cicadas live.

"It is true that cold temperatures will deter nymphs from emerging, and stop adult cicadas from flying around and singing," the website Cicada Mania says. "Cicadas are “cold-blooded” so they rely on air temperature and direct sunlight to warm up, and unless their bodies are warm enough, they won’t be able to fly, sing and mate. The black skin color of Magicicadas helps them warm up, just like how a black leather seat in a car gets hot to the touch in the summer."

One indicator is the soil temperature; they begin to leave the ground once the soil is 64°F.

The body temperature needed to fly is 65 to 70 degrees, varying a bit by species. It will have to be a bit more than that to fully function.

Adults can live a few weeks, but they often don’t get to live that long, as many are born crippled, they get infected with mold, they run out of energy, they get eaten, etc.

An emergence can last locally up to 6 weeks from start to finish. They should all be dead six weeks after you see your first cicadas.

The soil is too cool for them, and the ones spotted in some local areas are likely too early to survive long. The real mass of cicadas should come in a week or two.

“Insect development and activity is directly related to temperature,” explains Mike Raupp, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, College Park. “These early risers aren’t going to fare so well and are probably simply going to feed the birds and other small mammals that are just sitting there with hungry beaks ready to gobble them up,” says Raupp. 

Warmer weather is expected for a while, which will allow the soil to warm up and cause the cicadas to come out in droves.