WEST LAFAYETTE — Elizabeth Long loves bugs.
And she wants you to know that this summer is going to be huge for bug lovers, thanks to the emergence of two special broods of cicadas, which hasn't happened in more than two centuries.
"That's really, really exciting for these periodical cicadas, these two broods that are going to be emerging this year," said Long, a Purdue University assistant professor of entomology.
"The big deal is the fact that they will be emerging in synchrony for the first time (since 1803). It's a really long time."
Long has a doctorate from the University of Missouri in plant, insect and microbial sciences and specializes in managing pests and beneficial bugs on farms and orchards.
And just how much does Long love bugs?
Well, she described the big green-and-black cicadas we see every summer in Central Indiana as "cute."
"They're green, they have a white belly," she said. "I think they're very cute. They're very clumsy, you know."
Long said these two broods of cicadas will be emerging in southern and northern parts of Indiana for about a month starting in May, then they're gone.
WRTV asked Long about this summer's ridiculously rare emergence of the 17-year Brood XIII (or Brood 13) and the 13-year Brood XIX (Brood 19) cicadas.
Question: What’s so special about the cicadas we are going to see this summer?
Long: We don't have many insects that stay underground as immatures for this long, you know. It's I think pretty amazing. So that's really, really exciting for these periodical cicadas, these two broods that are going to be emerging this year. The big deal is the fact that they will be emerging in synchrony for the first time (since 1803). It's a really long time.
The main difference between the two broods is the time that they spend (before) they emerge. So one is a 13-year brood and, it's a little confusing because... the two broods that are going to emerge are Brood 19 (Brood XIX) and Brood 13 (Brood XIII).
Brood 19, which is just the number assigned to this group that emerges, those are 13 year cicadas... Then Brood 13, which is a little bit confusing... they emerge every 17 years.
So you can see that 13-17 overlap. That's how we're in that coincidence with the synchrony based on the math of them emerging both at the same time this year.
It so weird that 19 is 13 (years) and 13 is (17 years). I had to read up on it to get it straight.
WRTV: No wonder you guys have to get advanced degrees to understand bugs.
Long: Everyone thinks they're simple... I'm like, these insects, they keep it challenging.
Question: How are these insects different from the cicadas we see every summer?
Long: They're smaller than the annual or what I call the dog-day cicada. The periodical cicadas are smaller. They're kind of blackish, bluish, dark color. They do have the red eyes and the orange wings.
The dog-day cicadas that we see every summer here, they're much larger. They're green, they have a white belly, you know. I think they're very cute. They're very clumsy.
Question: Do they harm people or pets?
Long: They do not directly harm people or pets. They can't sting, they can't bite. I have picked them up and held them while they stridulate... It's a little bit intimidating, you know. It just feels kind of weird but they can't hurt you.
I guess if your dog or cat eats too many, they might get a little bit of an upset stomach, but not because of any poison or anything. It's just the gluttony of: I'm going to eat everything while I can.
Question: What about damage to plants or trees?
Long: So that is something more significant. If you have young plants this time of year ... they are vulnerable to the female cicadas because those are the (smaller) stems where she likes to lay her eggs. If folks have seen that damage, it kind of looks like a stitching pattern like if you had a sewing machine and imagine stitching it... she basically cuts into those stems and lays her eggs and you can see that damage.
It's usually not a big deal for most trees, but if it's young and it's something that you're hoping to produce fruit or nice flowers, they can be damaging.
We don't recommend insecticide sprays for the cicadas... because it's really not going make that big a difference and you're just more likely to harm beneficial insects that might be in the area.
If you can put a netting and tie it at the bottom or stake it to the ground — like you'll see them do this in vineyards — then you can really stop them from getting in there.
Question: They have no defense against predators, right? So does this mean the birds are going to be well fed this summer?
Long: This mass emergence, this is like the ultimate Thanksgiving meal for so many other animals in our landscape, right Chipmunks, squirrels, foxes, birds, other insects, right?
They're just able to eat all these insects and whatever they don't eat, you know, just falls to the ground and that contributes a lot of nutrition to the forest and areas where these cicadas would be emerging.
Question: Why are they so noisy?
Long: So I feel like it's the answer of anybody trying to impress anyone else. You know, the males are the ones who are noisy. They have these specialized organs on their abdomen that they vibrate and it's, as we know, extremely loud. I can't imagine how loud it would have been back in 1803 when there were a lot more trees on the landscape.
They are basically calling to females to send that signal: "Hey, I'm the one, come find me." And the females then come to the males.
You know, they only have so much time because even though they spend so many years underground, the adults maybe will be alive for a month or so and then they're gone.
They have greater longevity, but in the big scheme, like, they're living a short wild, adult life and then they're gone again.
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on X/Twitter: @vicryc.