The 17 year itch
Brood XII cicadas will emerge east of Siouxland
By Nicole Paseka Journal staff writer
After living underground for 17 years, billions of periodical cicadas will rise up from the earth this month -- but not in Sioux City.
Siouxland residents would have to venture to central and eastern Iowa to encounter them.
The swarms are not something to be feared or loathed, but admired, said Donald
Lewis, professor of entomology at Iowa State University.
"It's amazing how Yahoo and MSNBC can make a beautiful event of nature sound like a catastrophe," Lewis said.
Known as "Brood XII," these small cicadas with glowing red eyes, visible wing veins and a roaring 90-decibel buzz live in the eastern half of the United States, including eastern Iowa.
"It's roughly the triangle from Dubuque to Cedar Rapids to Davenport," Lewis said.
The Brood XII cicadas behave differently from annual cicadas, whose romantic ballads are seemingly part of summer.
While annual cicadas start to buzz in the late afternoon, starting in July and lasting until the first frost, male Brood XII cicadas buzz in the morning, Lewis said.
"They sing at different times of day," he said.
These cicadas live underground as nymphs for 17 years before emerging. It is not known how these insects know when to emerge from the earth.
All of the cicadas in an area emerge at the same time, Lewis said.
They mate and then die within about 30 days of seeing sunlight -- the ultimate romantic tragedy.
Journal staff writer Nicole Paseka can be reached at 712-293-4276 or nicolepaseka@siouxcityjournal.com.