So, there have been quite a few articles about two broods of cicadas (Brood XIX and Brood XIII) emerging at the same time for the first time in 221 years and apparently it won’t happen again until 2245. Multiple people have shared the information on social median and of course the reactions have been what you would expect… brace for impact.

The thing is, we only have one of those broods in Oklahoma. Brood XIX is just barely in our state and Brood XIII is primarily found in Illinois, Iowa etc. So much for cicada-megeddon here in Oklahoma. Here’s the deal.

In Oklahoma, we play host to about 12 species of cicadas. These groupings of cicadas are called broods and different broods become active above ground on different schedules. For example, in Oklahoma we play host to Brood IV which is on a 17-year cycle. This means that these insects spend 17 years underground before emerging. History tells us that Brood IV was active in Oklahoma in 1847, 1964, 1981, 1998, and lastly in 2015. On this schedule, we won’t see Brood IV until 2032.

In Oklahoma, our most common cicada is called the Dog-Day Cicada. These cicadas have a life cycle of between 2 and 5 years. So yes, we will have cicadas this summer, just not in the quantities the news stories would like us to believe.

In Oklahoma, we know it’s summer when we hear those sounds coming from the trees at night. Those sounds come from the male cicadas beating their wings rapidly against their abdomen in an attempt to attract a female. The males have a special organ on each side of their body called tympana which helps to amplify the sounds and on a humid, summer night they can be almost deafening (slight exaggeration). These cicada mating calls have been recorded with sound levels up to 108 decibels which is close to the same loudness as you might hear standing about three feet away from a honking car horn. That’s pretty loud.

After this mating ritual, female cicadas lay their eggs by placing them inside small branches using a saw-like egg laying body part called an ovipositor. Then in about six to seven weeks, the baby cicadas hatch and fall to the ground. They then burrow into the soil, sometimes up to several feet deep where they live for most of their lives. During this time underground, they go through several growth stages called “instars” before emerging.

Once they emerge, they climb up onto something and the adult emerges from its shell leaving the crunchy shells most of us have seen on the sides of trees or fences. Adults live about 5 or 6 weeks during which the process begins again.

While cicadas can suck sap from trees, there’s really no cause for concern. They tend to leave our flowers and vegetables alone. So, everyone can take a deep breath and look forward to 2032 when our very own 17-year Brood IV emerges. Good luck.

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org