One for the Books: The 2021 Emergence of the Periodical Cicada Brood X
Gene Kritsky
Abstract
The 2021 emergence of the periodical cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada spp.) was the 19th time that this brood has been observed since 1715, when Reverend Andreas Sandel wrote about that year’s emergence in his journal. In many respects, the 2021 emergence was a typical emergence, and the descriptions of earlier emergences would aptly describe what happened in 2021. Likewise, media interest in the cicadas was as intense in 2021 as it was during the previous emergence in 2004. Researchers mapping this year’s emergence used crowdsourcing to gather observations of where periodical cicadas emerged, as did Gideon B. Smith in 1851 and the United States Department of Agriculture in 1902 (under the leadership of L. O. Howard and Charles Marlatt). Smith focused his efforts on sending out newspaper columns to solicit letters from people who witnessed emergences, whereas Howard and Marlatt sent out 15,000 letters in addition to USDA press releases...