Statewide Iowa — You may’ve heard the buzz about the mass return of the insect known as the cicada after 17 years in the ground. Iowa State Entomologist, Donald Lewis, says the emergence will be from Indiana to the east coast. Iowa has to wait until 2031 for the periodical cicada to return.
Thousand of periodical cicadas emerge at one time and cover trees and other objects. Lewis says there is an annual cicada that we will soon see here.
He says you may also find the old shell of the cicada around the yard.
They then fly around until it is time to go back underground. There are not as many of the annual cicadas. Lewis says the purpose of the insects isn’t exactly known.
He says the periodical cicadas are about three-quarters of an inch long. Lewis says a raccoon or bear or some other animal may eat cicadas — but they are too big for most predators to eat. While they may seem imposing — Lewis says cicadas are harmless to humans.
If you want to see the mass emergence of the 17-year cicada, you’ll have to head east to Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and some coastal states. The nymphs surface during late May and June.
