Periodical cicada (photo courtesy UGA)
Josephine Bennett reports the Periodical Cicadas will be coming out of the ground and when they do, they won’t be quiet.
The male cicadas will begin chirping when they emerge. The bugs have been living and feeding underground since 1998.
While they're here they’ll mate, lay eggs, and die. The whole process takes 6 weeks. University of Georgia Entomologist Nancy Hinkle says they’re harmless to people and plants and feed on tree sap underground.
“In some areas where there are good conditions we may see thousands per acre, Most places around homes and parks you’ll be luck to see a dozen per acre probably.”
When the eggs hatch the cicada nymphs will go back underground and not return until 2024. Hinkle says the cicadas are only found from Macon north.
