University of Mississippi biologist offers helpful tips on what to expect, how to deal with noisy insects
The cicadas have arrived in northeast Mississippi. Those big-eyed, noisy insects that periodically emerge from the ground arrived on schedule this month, but a University of Mississippi biologist says there’s no cause for alarm.
Though it’s been 13 years since the black-and-red periodical cicadas were last seen, their reemergence is expected, said Paul Lago, professor emeritus of biology.
“They come out every 13 years,” Lago said. “The 13-year cicadas are pretty much restricted to the Mississippi River basin from Illinois and Indiana south through Mississippi. Most people on the planet will not have the pleasure of experiencing the phenomenon.”
This year’s emergence includes areas to the east of Lafayette County, including Pontotoc, Lee, Itawamba, and Monroe Counties. Those who live in this area should expect to see the strange-looking insects hanging on sides of trees. They are there as babies and will transform into adults.
Their shell-like exoskeletons will remain there until wind and rain cause them to fall, Lago said. As the adults emerge, expect things to get louder outdoors.
“You will hear noise – lots of noise – as the males ‘sing’ to attract mates,” Lago said. “The females will make small cuts on twigs or trees where they deposit eggs.
“The eggs hatch and the young leave the split in the bark and fall to the ground.”
Though their physical appearance can be menacing, cicadas pose no threat to people, plants or animals, Lago said.
“They don’t bite other animals,” he said. “Nor do they attack crops.
Some birds eat them. You could as well, but we have not developed a taste for them.”
The immature cicadas burrow deep in the soil and attach to hardwood tree roots, where they feed on tree sap until it’s time for the cycle to repeat, Lago said.
After three or four weeks, the cicadas will be gone.
“By early June, you’ll see dead cicadas all over the place,” Lago said. “They won’t return to the Oxford area until around 2028.”
By Edwin Smith
