Brood X Cicada Eggs Hatching Before Going Underground Until 2038
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- We are not done talking about them yet. The Brood X cicadas are back.
This time, the experience will be much different. The cicada eggs laid in May and June are hatching.
That means the tiny cicada nymphs are finding their ways into the ground where they will stay until 2038.
"They're simply going to bounce off and hopefully, land on the ground underneath a tree or where you are standing, dig down into the soil and find the roots of plants to attach and begin feeding again for the next 17 years," said Michael Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland who has studied cicadas for years.
Here's the good news: most people won't notice the baby cicadas, which are only a couple of millimeters long.
If you want to see them, put a black piece of paper under an oak tree with brown, wilting branches and wait it out. The idea is the black paper will make the cicadas easier to see when they come in for a landing.
