# Haven't Heard Those 13-Year Cicads-Where Are They? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822 "2011-07-04T17:13:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/1 "2011-07-04T17:13:32Z")
I was looking forward to hearing that electric saw noise…but the woods are still silent. This was supposed to be a big year for cicadas-so where are they? BTW-I live 20 miles west of Boston, MA. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/2 "2011-07-04T17:48:31Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > This was supposed to be a big year for cicadas… Everywhere? Or just in your area? How does the cycle thing work? I don’t understand why all the cicadas are on the same year. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/3 "2011-07-04T18:39:58Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I was looking forward to hearing that electric saw noise..but the woods are still silent. > This was supposed to be a big year for cicadas-so where are they? > BTW-I live 20 miles west of Boston, MA. I dunno, I was wondering the same thing, here in Michigan. Usually those buzzy little bastards rev up every time the heat goes over 78 or so. I haven’t heard a single one this year. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/4 "2011-07-04T19:02:40Z")
this year has 13 year ones in central midwest and south. 17 year ones were in the east in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/5 "2011-07-04T19:23:29Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > this year has 13 year ones in central midwest and south. > > 17 year ones were in the east in 2008. The really big 17-year group is the Great Eastern Brood, which last came around in 2004. I was living in Baltimore at the time, and the things were everywhere. None of the 13-year broods appear in New England. Just one more **ralph124c** GQ question that could have been answered by the first Wikipedia article. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/6 "2011-07-04T21:00:15Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The really big 17-year group is the Great Eastern Brood, which last came around in 2004. I was living in Baltimore at the time, and the things were everywhere. > > None of the 13-year broods appear in New England. > > Just one more **ralph124c** GQ question that could have been answered by the first Wikipedia article. Odd, then-the 13 year ones were reported on Yonkers, NY (Jne). I guess that doesn’t count as New England. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/7 "2011-07-04T21:26:03Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Odd, then-the 13 year ones were reported on Yonkers, NY (Jne). > I guess that doesn’t count as New England. That’s correct. New York is not part of New England. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/8 "2011-07-04T21:32:45Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The really big 17-year group is the Great Eastern Brood, which last came around in 2004. I was living in Baltimore at the time, and the things were everywhere. > > None of the 13-year broods appear in New England. > > Just one more **ralph124c** GQ question that could have been answered by the first Wikipedia article. Well, we’re not in GQ and there’s no reason to be nasty. Not all of us lived in Baltimore in 2004 and, “the first Wikipedia article” I found didn’t clearly address the years the broods appear. If you don’t want to discuss cicadas, fine. If you do and have relevant information, sharing it rather than snarking would be a fine choice. **Ellen Cherry MPISMS Moderator** ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/9 "2011-07-04T21:44:00Z")
I did share some information, and i broke no rules. Also, put **13 year cicada** into Google, and the first hit is [this page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magicicada). HTH ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/10 "2011-07-05T01:05:51Z")
Well, if I’d known you were wanting to experience cicada hell, I would have invited you over. End of May, first week of June we were invaded here in central Illinois. Our tree trunks were covered with the crusty shells, the noise was insane, and the smell!There were cicada drifts of dead and decaying bugs. We left the 12th for Tennessee, and when we came back on the 19th, most of them had disappeared. Thank God – I was really tired of doing the lunatic getitoutofmyfacehairmouth dance every time I went outside. ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/11 "2011-07-05T20:25:40Z")
They are trapped under all the concrete that has been poured since then, and killed by all the pesticides we have dumped on our lawns and crops. Seen many fireflies lately? They are very rare in my neck of the woods. Sad ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/12 "2011-07-05T21:11:05Z")
Look for old-growth areas – places where there were plentiful number of trees 13 years ago that haven’t been paved over since. We live in the 'burbs of Cincinnati. During the last cicada perfect storm, cicadas were plentiful in older established neighborhoods and rather scarce in the sections with new subdivisions. Now that are subdivision is 20+ years old, they’ll get worse over time. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/13 "2011-07-05T21:56:08Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > How does the cycle thing work? I don’t understand why all the cicadas are on the same year. It is an evolutionary advantage to only appear over long time spans in prime numbered years so predators never arise in sync with the species. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/14 "2011-07-07T12:07:03Z")
> [@limegreen](#): > > Well, if I’d known you were wanting to experience cicada hell, I would have invited you over. End of May, first week of June we were invaded here in central Illinois. Our tree trunks were covered with the crusty shells, the noise was insane, and the smell!There were cicada drifts of dead and decaying bugs. We left the 12th for Tennessee, and when we came back on the 19th, most of them had disappeared. Thank God – I was really tired of doing the lunatic getitoutofmyfacehairmouth dance every time I went outside. The same in central Illinois. You had to swat them away from your face as you walked outside. The noise was so loud I felt like I was living in a science fiction movie. Surprisingly, a town 8 miles west of us didn’t get them! ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/15 "2011-07-07T15:27:52Z")
Weirdly enough, I haven’t heard ANY cicadas this year. Like I said, usually as soon as the temperature goes up they’re roaring away, but not a peep this year. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/16 "2011-07-08T11:01:53Z")
They’re here in Texas (Dallas) and they wont shut up! ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/havent-heard-those-13-year-cicads-where-are-they/587822/17 "2011-07-09T03:06:56Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Look for old-growth areas – places where there were plentiful number of trees 13 years ago that haven’t been paved over since. My understanding is you need multiples of 13 years of treeiness to get a population established. My experience was no cicadas in places that were prairie within the last 40 - 50 years, but old growth bottom land was thick with them.