Mass. Prepares for Emergence of 17-Year Cicada Brood

It's a phenomenon the Bay State hasn't seen in 17 years and won't see again until 2042.

The 17-year Brood XIV cicadas are set to emerge between mid-May and June on Long Island, in New York, and in the Cape Cod area.

According to a Boston.com report, this 17-year brood has not appeared in Massachusetts since 2008 and will not return until 2042. While Massachusetts gets the annual cicadas that emerge every year in the middle to late summer, it rarely experiences the periodical cicadas that appear every 17 years. 

These cicadas stay alive for a few weeks above ground, reproduce, and find trees to plant eggs in. The eggs hatch into nymphs, which descend from the trees and tunnel into the ground to start their 17-year development cycle.

John Cooley, associate professor-in-residence of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, said only one of the dozen types of Brood XIV cicadas will appear in Massachusetts.

“When you're dealing with any species at the edge of the range, they're always on the verge of just blinking out of existence,” he told Boston.com. “That's the big concern that we have with this population on Cape Cod and the one on Long Island.”

Cooley explained that if you see the cicadas, don't spray them with pesticides. The pesticides can harm other animals that eat them. 

“If you're lucky enough to have periodical cicadas or see them, it's something really to experience and appreciate,” he said. “There are not many places in the world where you can go and see anything at all like this.”