Brood X#2021 emergence

File:Periodical Cicada Broods of the United States.png

Every 17 years, Brood X cicada nymphs tunnel upwards en masse to emerge from the surface of the ground. The insects then shed their exoskeletons on trees and other surfaces, thus becoming adults. The mature cicadas fly, mate, lay eggs in twigs, and then die within several weeks. The combination of the insects' long underground life, their nearly simultaneous emergence from the ground in vast numbers and their short period of adulthood allows the brood to survive even massive predation.

Brood X is endemic in Indiana, Ohio, southeastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, East Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, DC, and other areas throughout the eastern United States.Multiple sources:

• {{cite web|last=Van Allen|first=Fox|date=December 11, 2020|title=What is Brood X, the U.S. cicada infestation coming in 2021?|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-brood-x-us-cicada-infestation-coming-in-2021/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126143528/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-brood-x-us-cicada-infestation-coming-in-2021/|archive-date=2021-01-26|access-date=2021-01-26|website=CBS News|language=en-US}}
• {{cite web|title=Brood X: The Great Eastern Brood|work=Cicadas|date=February 21, 2017|url=https://cicadas.uconn.edu/brood_10/|location=Storrs, Connecticut|publisher=University of Connecticut|access-date=March 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329084659/https://cicadas.uconn.edu/brood_10/|archive-date=March 29, 2021|url-status=live}} The brood contains three species, Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini and Magicicada septendecula, that congregate on different trees and have different male songs.{{cite news|first=Darryl|last=Fears|date=March 9, 2021|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/03/09/cicadas-broodx-environment/|title=Brood X cicadas are about to put on one of the wildest shows in nature. And D.C. is the main stage.|work=Climate and Environment|publisher=The Washington Post|access-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309202508/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2fclimate-environment%2f2021%2f03%2f09%2fcicadas-broodx-environment%2f|archive-date=March 9, 2021|url-status=live}}

File:Brood X Cicada Nymphs.jpg|alt=Photo of Brood X Cicada Nymphs emerging from holes in the ground in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland|Brood X nymphs emerging in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland (May 13, 2021)

File:Brood X emergence turrets.jpg|Mud turrets that emerging Brood X cicadas created in Potomac, Maryland near Washington, D.C. (June 30, 2021)

File:2021-05-15 20 35 58 Brood X periodical cicada nymph on a plant.jpg|A Brood X cicada nymph in Bethesda, Maryland near Washington, D.C. (May 5, 2021)

File:Cicada Nymphs Climbing Up A Cedar Tree 2021-05-25.webm|Brood X cicada nymphs climbing a cedar tree in Bethesda, Maryland (May 25, 2021) (video)

File:17 year cicada Brood X two cicada nymphs final molt 2021.webm|A timelapse of two teneral Brood X cicadas molting in Bethesda, Maryland (May 17, 2021)

File:2021-05-15 22 53 59 multiple molting cicadas Brood X periodical cicada.jpg|Molting Brood X cicadas on a milkweed plant in Bethesda, Maryland (May 15, 2021)

File:Brood X cicada Columbus Ohio 05212021.jpg|An adult Brood X cicada and exuviae in Columbus, Ohio (May 21, 2021)

File:2004May21-Cicada (1).JPG|An emergent Brood X swarm and exuviae in Finneytown, Ohio near Cincinnati (May 21, 2004)

File:2004May21-Cicada (6).JPG|Detail of emergent swarm in Finneytown, Ohio

File:Magicicada ovipositing.jpg|A Brood X cicada ovipositing eggs in a tree branch near Baltimore, Maryland (May 26, 2021)

The first known description of an emergence of Brood X appeared in a May 9, 1715, entry in the journal of Rev. Andreas Sandel, the pastor of Philadelphia's "Gloria Dei" Swedish Lutheran Church.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TP47AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA448|chapter=Extracts from the Journal of Rev. Andreas Sandel, Pastor of "Gloria Dei" Swedish Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, 1702-1719: May 9, 1715|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TP47AAAAIAAJ|title=The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography|volume=30|date=January 1906|issue=117 |pages=448–449|jstor=20085357|oclc=1762062|issn=0031-4587|location=Philadelphia|publisher=The Historical Society of Pennsylvania|access-date=October 7, 2020|via=Google Books|last1=Sandel |first1=Andreas }} In 1737, botanist John Bartram wrote a letter that described the periodicity of the brood's emergences and his 1732 observations of the insect's insertion of their eggs into the small branches of trees northwest of Philadelphia.Multiple sources:

• {{cite journal|last=Kritsky|first=Gene|date=July 1, 2001|title=Periodical revolutions and the early history of the "Locust" in American Cicada terminology|journal=American Entomologist|volume=47|number=2, Fall 2001|page=3|doi=10.1093/ae/47.3.186|oclc=904754185|issn=2155-9902|doi-access=free}}
• Kritsky, 2004, [https://books.google.com/books?id=C9X4663giukC&pg=PA44 pp. 44-46.] Bartram later recorded in greater detail within two manuscripts the brood's May 1749 emergence.Multiple sources:
• Kritsky, 2004, [https://books.google.com/books?id=C9X4663giukC&pg=PA46 pp. 46-47.]
• {{cite book|last=Bartram|first=John|author-link=John Bartram|editor-last=Bartram|editor-first=Benjamin Smith |editor-link=Benjamin Smith Barton|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433011579244&view=1up&seq=82|chapter=On the Locusts of North America: XVI. Additional Observations on the Cicada Septendecim. By the late Mr. John Bartram. From a MS. in the possession of the Editor.|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433011579244&view=1up&seq=7|title=The Philadelphia Medical and Physical Journal|volume=1|pages=56–59|lccn=sf88091541|oclc=565367549|location=Philadelphia|publisher=J. Conrad & Co.|access-date=October 7, 2020|via=HathiTrust Digital Library}}

Pehr Kalm, a Finnish naturalist visiting Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 1749 on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, observed in late May that year's emergence of Brood X.{{cite book|last=Kalm|first=Peter|author-link=Pehr Kalm|year=1772|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/travelsintonorth01kalm_3/page/n10/mode/1up|chapter=Preface|url=https://archive.org/details/travelsintonorth01kalm_3/page/n6/mode/1up|title=Travels into North America; Containing Its Natural History, and a Circumstantial Account of Its Plantations and Agriculture in General, with the Civil, Ecclesiastical and Commercial State of the Country, the Manners of the Inhabitants, and Several Curious and Important Remarks on Various Subjects. Translated into English by John Reinhold Forster|edition=2nd|volume=1|pages=v–vii|isbn=978-0-665-51501-9|oclc=1042021758|lccn=02013569|location=London|publisher=Printed for T. Lowndes, No. 77, in Fleet-street|access-date=August 24, 2021|via=Internet Archive}}{{cite journal |last=Davis |first=J.J.|url=https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/4028/V53N03_138.pdf|title=Pehr Kalm's Description of the Periodical Cicada, Magicicada septendecim L., from Kongl. Svenska Vetenskap Academiens Handlinger, 17:101-116, 1756, translated by Larson, Esther Louise (Mrs. K.E. Doak)|journal=The Ohio Journal of Science|volume=53|date=May 1953|pages=139–140|hdl=1811/4028|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529050408/https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/4028/V53N03_138.pdf|archive-date=May 29, 2019|url-status=live}} Republished by {{cite web|url=https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/|title=Knowledge Bank|publisher=The Ohio State University Libraries and Office of the Chief Information Officer|access-date=October 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126134517/https://kb.osu.edu/|archive-date=January 26, 2021|url-status=live}} When reporting the event in a paper that a Swedish academic journal published in 1756, Kalm wrote:

{{Blockquote|The general opinion is that these insects appear in these fantastic numbers in every seventeenth year. Meanwhile, except for an occasional one which may appear in the summer, they remain underground.
There is considerable evidence that these insects appear every seventeenth year in Pennsylvania.}}

Kalm then described Rev. Sandel's report and one that he had obtained from Benjamin Franklin that had recorded in Philadelphia the emergence from the ground of large numbers of cicadas during early May 1732. He noted that the people who had prepared these documents had made no such reports in other years.

Kalm further noted that others had informed him that they had seen cicadas only occasionally before the insects emerged from the ground in Pennsylvania in large swarms on May 22, 1749. He additionally stated that he had not heard any cicadas in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 1750 in the same months and areas in which he had heard many in 1749. The 1715 and 1732 reports, when coupled with his own 1749 and 1750 observations, supported the previous "general opinion" that he had cited.

Kalm summarized his findings in a book translated into English and published in London in 1771,Kalm, 1771, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qG0FAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA212 pp. 212-213.] stating:

There are a kind of Locusts which about every seventeen years come hither in incredible numbers .... In the interval between the years when they are so numerous, they are only seen or heard single in the woods.Multiple sources"

• Kalm, 1771, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qG0FAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA6 pp. 6-7.]
• {{cite periodical |last=Marlatt|first=C.L|author-link=Charles Lester Marlatt |url=https://archive.org/details/periodicalcicada14marl/page/113/mode/1up|title=The Periodical Cicada in Literature|page=113|periodical=The Periodical Cicada: An Account of Cicada Septendecim, Its Natural Enemies and the Means of Preventing Its Injury, Together with a Summary of the Distribution of the Different Broods |series=New Series Bulletin No. 14 |location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Government Printing Office|year=1898|oclc=1039550735|access-date=July 29, 2021|via=Internet Archive}}

Moses Bartram, a son of John Bartram, described the 1766 emergence of Brood X in an article entitled Observations on the cicada, or locust of America, which appears periodically once in 16 or 17 years that a London journal published in 1768. Bartram noted that upon hatching from eggs deposited in the twigs of trees, the young insects ran down to the earth and "entered the first opening that they could find". He reported that he had been able to discover them {{convert|10|ft|m|0}} below the surface, but that others had reportedly found them {{convert|30|ft|m|0}} deep.{{cite book |last=Bartram|first=Moses|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5lGAAAAcAAJ&q=cicada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5lGAAAAcAAJ|chapter=Observations on the cicada, or locust of America, which appears periodically once in 16 or 17 years. Communicated by the ingenious Peter Collinson, Esq.|title=The Annual Register, or a View of the History, Politicks, and Literature, for the Year 1767|location=London|publisher=Printed for J. Dodsley (1768)|pages=103–106|year=1766|oclc=642534652|access-date=2017-05-21|via=Google Books}}

File:Cicada with extensive abdomen fungus 2021-05-31 093621 1 crop.jpg infection in Bethesda, Maryland (May 31, 2021)]]

In April 1800, Benjamin Banneker, who lived near Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, wrote in his record book that he recalled a "great locust year" in 1749, a second in 1766 during which the insects appeared to be "full as numerous as the first", and a third in 1783. He predicted that the insects (Brood X) "may be expected again in they year 1800 which is Seventeen Since their third appearance to me".Multiple sources:

• [https://archive.org/details/memoirbenjaminb00socigoog/page/n17/mode/1up Latrobe, pp. 11–12.]
• {{cite journal|last1=Barber|first1=Janet E.|last2=Nkwanta|first2=Asamoah|url=http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1070&context=jhm|title=Benjamin Banneker's Original Handwritten Document: Observations and Study of the Cicada|journal=Journal of Humanistic Mathematics|volume=4|number=1|pages=112–122|year=2014|doi=10.5642/jhummath.201401.07|oclc=700943261|issn=2159-8118|access-date=2014-08-26|doi-access=free|archive-date=August 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827123841/http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1070&context=jhm|url-status=live}} Page 115, Fig. 3: Image of page in Benjamin Banneker's Astronomical Journal, 1791-1806. Manuscript written by Benjamin Banneker (MS 2700). Special Collection. Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland: "The first great Locust year that I can Remember was 1749. ....". Describing an effect that the pathogenic fungus, Massospora cicadina, has on its host,{{cite journal|last1=Cooley|first1=John R.|last2=Marshall|first2=David C.|last3=Hill|first3=Kathy B. R.|date=2018-01-23|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-19813-0.pdf|title=A specialized fungal parasite (Massospora cicadina) hijacks the sexual signals of periodical cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada)|journal=Scientific Reports|language=En|volume=8|number=1432|page=1432 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-19813-0|pmid=29362478|pmc=5780379|bibcode=2018NatSR...8.1432C|issn=2045-2322|publisher=Springer Nature|access-date=August 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830021718/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-19813-0.pdf?error=cookies_not_supported&code=8583153f-e936-4bd8-8799-7537bd673cdd|archive-date=August 30, 2021|url-status=live}} Banneker's record book stated that the insects:

  .... begin to Sing or make a noise from first they come out of the Earth till they die. The hindermost part rots off, and it does not appear to be any pain to them, for they still continue on Singing till they die.Multiple sources:

• [https://archive.org/details/memoirbenjaminb00socigoog/page/n18/mode/1up Latrobe, p. 12.]
• {{cite journal|last1=Barber|first1=Janet E.|last2=Nkwanta|first2=Asamoah|url=http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1070&context=jhm|title=Benjamin Banneker's Original Handwritten Document: Observations and Study of the Cicada|journal=Journal of Humanistic Mathematics|volume=4|number=1|pages=112–122|year=2014|doi=10.5642/jhummath.201401.07|oclc=700943261|issn=2159-8118|access-date=2014-08-26|doi-access=free|archive-date=August 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827123841/http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1070&context=jhm|url-status=live}} Page 115, Fig. 3: Image of page in Benjamin Banneker's Astronomical Journal, 1791-1806. Manuscript written by Benjamin Banneker (MS 2700). Special Collection. Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland: "I like to forget that I inform to report that if their lives are Short they are merry, they begin to Sing or make a noise from first they come out of the Earth till they die. The hindermost part rots off, and it does not appear to be any pain to them, for they still continue on Singing till they die.".

Brood X was present in Nassau and Suffolk counties on New York's Long Island, which was the easternmost territory for the brood.{{Cite news|last=Giaimo|first=Cara|date=2021-05-19|title=The Case of the Disappearing Cicadas|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/19/science/brood-x-cicadas.html|access-date=2021-05-22|issn=0362-4331}}

Nassau County farmers in Massapequa and Farmingdale reported cicada damage to fruit trees from the brood's emergence.

The Nassau County Farm Bureau warned drivers that the brood's emergence in the area might be heavy enough to clog radiators as the brood began to emerge in mid-June.{{Cite news|title=LOCUST SWARMS OPEN LONG ISLAND ATTACK; 17-Year Variety Appears Widely in Suffolk -- Motorists Told to Guard Radiators.| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/06/12/88672158.html?pageNumber=4|access-date=2021-05-22|language=en}}

Long Island homeowners described the noise from Brood X as "tremendous."{{Cite news|title=THE 17-YEAR CICADA RETURNS NOISILY TO L.I.| work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1987/06/14/423087.html?pageNumber=300|access-date=2021-05-22|language=en}}

Brood X was present on Long Island. A horticultural expert from New York's extension office predicted that the brood's territory on Long Island would decrease because of development.

The brood had a major emergence during the spring of 2004. The Baltimore region's emergence began around May 11 and was falling silent by June 5.{{cite news|last=Roylance|first=Frank D.|date=June 5, 2004|title=Brood X falls into silence|work=The Baltimore Sun|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2004-06-05-0406050043-story.html|access-date=March 11, 2021}}. Emergences began in the Washington, D.C., area and in Ohio around May 13.Multiple sources:

• {{cite web|last=Fenston|first=Jacob|date=March 5, 2021|url=https://dcist.com/story/21/03/05/dc-17-year-cicadas/|title=Periodical Cicadas Will Overrun D.C. This Spring|work=dcist|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=WAMU 88.5, American University Radio|access-date=May 22, 2021|archive-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522172400/https://dcist.com/story/21/03/05/dc-17-year-cicadas/}}
• {{cite web|first=Melissa|last=Block|date=May 21, 2004|url=https://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1905553|title=Roar of the Cicada: Brood X Is Above Ground and Screaming for Love|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=National Public Radio (NPR)|access-date=May 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308191203/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1905553|archive-date=March 8, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first=Brittany|last=Rall|date=January 27, 2021|url=https://fox8.com/news/brood-x-cicadas-expected-to-emerge-in-ohio-this-spring-first-time-since-2004/|title=Brood X Cicadas expected to emerge in Ohio this spring, first time since 2004|work=Fox 8 (Cleveland, Ohio)|publisher=Nexstar Media Group, Inc.}} The D.C. area's emergence was peaking by May 21.

Long Island's population of Brood X had nearly disappeared by the time of the 2004 emergence.Multiple sources:

• {{cite news|last=Nelson|first=Bryn|date=July 13, 2004|url=http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-cicada0711,0,5070556.story|title=Fearing the worst for cicada brood|newspaper=Newsday|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040713045020/http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-cicada0711,0,5070556.story|archive-date=July 13, 2004|quote=After two false alarms and countless scouting expeditions, enthusiasts and experts are facing a sad truth: the periodical cicadas of Brood X haven't re-emerged en masse on Long Island, and likely never will.}}
• {{cite web|first= L.S.|last=Cohen|date=January 29, 2021|url=https://www.longisland.com/news/01-28-21/cicada-brood-x-probably-a-bust-on-long-island.html|title=Cicada Brood X Probably a Bust on Long Island|work=LongIsland.com|publisher=LongIsland.com & Long Island Media, Inc.|access-date=June 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517090804/https://www.longisland.com/news/01-28-21/cicada-brood-x-probably-a-bust-on-long-island.html|archive-date=May 17, 2021|url-status=live}} An entomologist with Cornell University's integrated pest management program suggested that widespread tree removal during development and pesticide use on the island had caused the brood's extirpation there.{{cite web|last=Karlin|first=Rick|date=April 20, 2021|title=NY missing out on emergence of billions of cicadas|url=https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/ny-missing-out-on-emergence-of-billions-of-cicadas/article_5ec258e3-07a9-5fb5-8c8c-35495b5bee83.html|access-date=April 20, 2021|work=Times Union}}

File:Cicada Brood X 2021 Perry Hall.jpg fruit near Baltimore (May 22, 2021)]]

The brood's 2021 expected emergence in 15 states (Delaware, Illinois, Georgia, Indiana, New York, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Michigan), as well as in Washington, D.C., began in April.Multiple sources:

• {{cite web|last=Van Allen|first=Fox|date=December 11, 2020|title=What is Brood X, the U.S. cicada infestation coming in 2021?|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-brood-x-us-cicada-infestation-coming-in-2021/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126143528/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-brood-x-us-cicada-infestation-coming-in-2021/|archive-date=2021-01-26|access-date=2021-01-26|website=CBS News|language=en-US}}
• {{cite web|last=Rosane|first=Olivia|date=January 22, 2021|title=Trillions of Brood X Cicadas to Emerge in 15 States This Spring|url=https://www.ecowatch.com/brood-x-cicadas-emerging-2650069126.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2?rebelltitem=2|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126143805/https://www.ecowatch.com/brood-x-cicadas-emerging-2650069126.html?rebelltitem=3|archive-date=2021-01-26|access-date=2021-01-26|website=EcoWatch|language=en}}
• {{cite news|last1=Matheny|first1=Keith|last2=Kovanis|first2=Georgea|date=January 26, 2021|title=These bugs have been underground for 17 years. This year, they'll resurface in 15 states.|language=en-US|website=USA TODAY|publisher=Detroit Free Press|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/01/26/17-year-cicadas-coming-to-michigan/4250507001/|url-status=live|access-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126144820/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/01/26/17-year-cicadas-coming-to-michigan/4250507001/|archive-date=January 26, 2021}}
• {{cite news|last=Condon|first=Christine|date=March 4, 2021|title=Get ready, Maryland: The 17-year Brood X cicadas are coming in May|work=Environment|publisher=The Baltimore Sun|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/environment/bs-md-cicadas-brood-x-2021-20210304-lflu2r3iinhh3bpq4iwy37pqku-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309023614/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/environment/bs-md-cicadas-brood-x-2021-20210304-lflu2r3iinhh3bpq4iwy37pqku-story.html|archive-date=March 9, 2021}}
• {{cite web|first1=Hayley|last1=Fowler|first2=Simone|last2=Jasper|date=May 6, 2021|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article251208139.html|title='The whole yard was full.' Thousands of Brood X cicadas invade NC woman's property|location=Charlotte, North Carolina|publisher=The Charlotte Observer|access-date=May 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516055709/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article251208139.html|archive-date=May 16, 2021|url-status=live|quote=You cannot walk through my yard without stepping on something — either a live one, one that just emerged from the ground, or the molted shell from one," she told McClatchy News on Thursday, a week after the cicadas took over her yard.
  Her 13-year-old daughter first spotted a few coming out of the ground in mid-April, but a sudden cold snap kept most nestled beneath the soil.}} Emergent cicadas were observed in western North Carolina during mid-April.{{cite web|first1=Hayley|last1=Fowler|first2=Simone|last2=Jasper|date=May 6, 2021|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article251208139.html|title='The whole yard was full.' Thousands of Brood X cicadas invade NC woman's property|location=Charlotte, North Carolina|publisher=The Charlotte Observer|access-date=May 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516055709/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article251208139.html|archive-date=May 16, 2021|url-status=live}}

Although a cold snap delayed emergences, more of the insects appeared as temperatures rose into the 60s. By May 6, large numbers of the insects had emerged there, while others had been reported in Maryland near Washington, D.C., and on the Tennessee-North Carolina border.{{cite web|last=Raupp|first=Michael J. |date=May 10, 2021|url=http://bugoftheweek.com/|title=Just A Trickle, Not A Flood, So When Will The Main Event Happen? And How Do You Tell The Guts From The Gals? Periodical Cicadas, Magacica spp.|work=Bug of the Week|location=College Park, Maryland|publisher=bugoftheweek.com|access-date=August 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511195405/http://bugoftheweek.com/|archive-date=May 11, 2021}}

By May 7 the brood was emerging in the Philadelphia area, in Pittsburgh, and in Allentown, Pennsylvania.{{cite web|first=Justin|last=Heinze|date=May 7, 2021|url=https://patch.com/pennsylvania/lansdale/when-will-brood-x-cicadas-emerge-pa-temps-may-play-role|title=1st Cicadas Have Emerged In PA, Billions More Expected Soon|work=Montgomeryville-Lansdale, Pennsylvania Patch|access-date=May 22, 2021}} By May 10, people were reporting emergences in Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland, Knoxville, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis and by May 19 in Baltimore.Multiple sources:

• {{cite web|first=Kelly Kizer|last=Whitt|date=May 11, 2021|url=https://earthsky.org/earth/17-year-cicadas-broodx-2021|title=The Brood X Cicadas Are Emerging Now|work=EarthSky|publisher=EarthSky Communications, Inc.|access-date=June 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531163145/https://earthsky.org/earth/17-year-cicadas-broodx-2021/|archive-date=May 31, 2021|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|first=Kevin|last=Ambrose|date=May 14, 2021|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/05/14/cicadas-washington-dc-erupting/|title=Cicadas are increasing in D.C. area and are poised to erupt next week|work=Capital Weather Gang|publisher=The Washington Post|access-date=May 22, 2021}}
• {{cite news|author=CBS Baltimore Staff|date=May 19, 2021|title='Cicada Tsunami' Expected This Week As Temperatures Near 90, Up To 750K Can Fit In An Acre|publisher=WJZ-TV|location=Baltimore|url=https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2021/05/19/cicada-tsunami-of-up-to-750k-per-acre-expected-this-week-as-temperatures-near-90/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521003252/https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2021/05/19/cicada-tsunami-of-up-to-750k-per-acre-expected-this-week-as-temperatures-near-90/|archive-date=May 21, 2021|url-status=live|quote=All over social media, people are sharing photos of the cicadas emerging from the ground all over Maryland.}} By May 20 the emergence was reaching its peak in Washington, D.C. and its inner suburbs.{{cite web|first=Kevin|last=Ambrose|date=May 20, 2021|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/05/20/cicada-distribution-map/|title=As we enter cicada peak bloom, here's where they've already emerged|work=Capital Weather Gang|publisher=The Washington Post|access-date=May 22, 2021}} On June 8, small numbers of cicadas were heard in Connetquot River State Park Preserve in Suffolk County on New York's Long Island.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/like-magic-small-emergence-cicadas-thought-be-extinct-found-new-york-2021-06-11/|title='Like magic': small emergence of cicadas thought to be extinct found in New York|date=June 11, 2021|publisher=Reuters|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614074929/https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/like-magic-small-emergence-cicadas-thought-be-extinct-found-new-york-2021-06-11/|archive-date=June 14, 2021|url-status=live}}

On June 8, while the press corps was preparing to cover Joe Biden's first trip abroad of his presidency, its chartered plane was grounded at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia after cicadas clogged the plane's auxiliary power unit.Multiple sources:

• {{cite news|last=Shear|first=Michael D.|date=2021-06-09|title=Cicadas Took On Biden's Press Plane. They Won.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/us/politics/cicadas-biden.html|access-date=2021-06-09|issn=0362-4331}}
• {{cite web|first=Leslie|last=Josephs|date=June 9, 2021|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/09/cicadas-white-house-charter-plane.html|title=Swarm of cicadas ground White House press corps charter, delaying flight to Europe|publisher=CNBC|access-date=June 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610100527/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/09/cicadas-white-house-charter-plane.html|archive-date=June 10, 2021|url-status=live}} The next day, Biden swatted a cicada that had landed on his neck while he was standing on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before boarding Air Force One to begin his flight to England.Multiple sources:
• {{cite web|first=Quint|last=Forgey|date=June 9, 2021|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/09/cicadas-biden-eu-trip-492446|title='Watch out for the cicadas': Biden takes a hit to the neck as he departs for foreign trip|work=Politico|access-date=June 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610133241/https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/09/cicadas-biden-eu-trip-492446|archive-date=June 10, 2021|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbPNk1S5Shc|title=President Biden Swats Cicada Crawling On His Neck|format=video|work=NBC News|date=June 9, 2021|access-date=June 11, 2021|via=YouTube}} (0:53 minutes)

File:Bite of Pyemotes herfsi.jpg

By June 16, the population of living cicadas was declining and dead cicadas were accumulating in the Washington metropolitan area.{{cite news|first=Kevin|last=Ambrose|date=June 16, 2021|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/06/16/cicadas-smell-broodx-map-gone/|title=Cicadas are dying off, but leaving behind a stench|work=Capital Weather Gang|publisher=The Washington Post|access-date=June 18, 2021}} The cicadas were gone from the Washington–Baltimore area by June 21.{{cite web|last=Raupp|first=Michael J. |date=June 21, 2021|url=http://bugoftheweek.com/?offset=1623674973077&reversePaginate=true|title=Auf Wiedersehen Brood X: Cicadas, Magicicada spp.|work=Bug of the Week|location=College Park, Maryland|publisher=bugoftheweek.com|access-date=August 3, 2021}} On July 26, the eggs that the cicadas had laid in the area were hatching.Multiple sources:

• {{cite web|last=Raupp|first=Michael J. |date=July 26, 2021|url=http://bugoftheweek.com/|title=Greet the Class of 2038 As Periodical Cicadas Hatch in the DMV: Magicada spp.|work=Bug of the Week|location=College Park, Maryland|publisher=bugoftheweek.com|access-date=August 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730180748/http://bugoftheweek.com/|archive-date=July 30, 2021}}
• {{cite news|first=Kevin|last=Ambrose|date=July 30, 2021|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/07/30/cicada-nymphs-hatching-broodx/|title=They're hatching! Next generation of cicadas begins 17-year life cycle.: Cicada nymphs are hatching and falling from the trees. They'll bury underground, and we'll next see them in 2038.|work=Capital Weather Gang|publisher=The Washington Post|access-date=August 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803041930/https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/07/30/cicada-nymphs-hatching-broodx/|archive-date=August 3, 2021|url-status=live}}

Many reports of itchy oak leaf mite ("itch mite") (Pyemotes herfsi) bites on people's necks, shoulders and chests appeared in the Washington metropolitan area in late July and August, after the emergence had ended. The mite usually feeds on oak leaf gall midge (Polystepha pilulae) larvae and other insects, but becomes an ectoparasite of periodical cicada eggs and quickly reproduces when those are available.Multiple sources:

• {{cite journal|author=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)|author-link=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|date=September 2005|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5438a3.htm|title=Outbreak of pruritic rashes associated with mites – Kansas, 2004|journal=Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMDR Weekly)|volume=54 |issue=38 |pages=952–955 |location=Atlanta, Georgia|pmid=16195693|access-date=March 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129101520/https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5438a3.htm|archive-date=November 29, 2023|url-status=live}}
• {{cite news|last1=Keith|first1=David|last2=Karstens|first2=Sandi Alswager|date=May 2, 2005|url=http://ianrnews.unl.edu/static/0505021.shtml|title=Itch Mites Are Back, Entomologist Warns|work=IANR News Story|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|publisher=University of Nebraska - Lincoln: Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816073516/http://ianrnews.unl.edu/static/0505021.shtml|archive-date=August 16, 2007|url-status=dead}}
• {{cite news|last1=Keith|first1=David|last2=Moser|first2=Dan|date=July 15, 2005|url=http://ianrnews.unl.edu/static/0507150.shtml|title=Itch Mite Population About to Increase, Entomologist Warns|work=IANR News Story|location=Lincoln, Nebraska|publisher=University of Nebraska - Lincoln: Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509131236/http://ianrnews.unl.edu/static/0507150.shtml|archive-date=May 9, 2006|url-status=dead}}
• {{cite journal|date=May 2006|last1=Broce|first1=Alberto B.|last2=Zurek|first2=Ludek|last3=Kalisch|first3=James A.|last4=Brown|first4=Robert|display-authors=3|url=https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/ja_moser050.pdf|title=Pyemotes herfsi (Acari: Pyemotidae), a Mite New to North America as the Cause of Bite Outbreaks|journal=Journal of Medical Entomology|volume=43|number=3|pages=610–613|doi=10.1093/jmedent/43.3.610 |doi-access=free |pmid=16739423|access-date=March 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127224629/https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/ja_moser050.pdf|archive-date=January 27, 2024|url-status=live}}
• {{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/09/30/mite-invasion-tied-to-cicada-cycle/|title=Mite invasion tied to cicada cycle|work=Chicago Tribune|date=September 30, 2007|access-date=March 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311094141/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/09/30/mite-invasion-tied-to-cicada-cycle/|archive-date=March 11, 2024|url-status=dead}} First report of Pyemotes herfsi parasitism on periodical cicada eggs.
• {{cite web|last1=Broce|first1=Alberto B.|last2=Kalisch|first2=James|date=October 2007|url=http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/entml2/mf2806.pdf|title=Oak leaf itch mite|work=Pests That Affect Human Health|id=MF-2806|publisher=Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716115233/http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/entml2/mf2806.pdf|archive-date=July 16, 2011|url-status=dead}}
• {{cite journal|last=Zaborski|first=Edmond R.|date=May 20, 2008|url=https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/18258|title=2007 Outbreak of Human Pruritic Dermatitis in Chicago, Illinois Caused by an Itch Mite, Pyemotes herfsi (Oudemans, 1936) (Acarina: Heterostigmata: Pyemotidae|journal=Illinois Natural History Survey Technical Report|id=NHS Technical Report 2008 (17)|location=Champaign, Illinois|publisher=Illinois Natural History Survey|access-date=January 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128154210/https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/18258|archive-date=January 28, 2024|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|date=May 20, 2008|last=Zaborski|first=Edmond R.|url=http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcitchmites_update5-23-08.htm|title=Itch Mite Update: Conclusions from "2007 Outbreak of Human Pruritic Dermatitis in Chicago, Illinois Caused by an Itch Mite, Pyemotes herfsi": Illinois Natural History Survey Technical Report 2008 (17)|location=Springfield, Illinois|publisher=Illinois Department of Public Health|access-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713193034/http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcitchmites_update5-23-08.htm|archive-date=July 13, 2022|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|last=Cloyd|date=November 3, 2016|first=Raymond|url=https://blogs.k-state.edu/kansasbugs/2016/11/03/oak-leaf-itch-mite/|title=Oak Leaf Itch Mite|work=Extension Entomology|location=Manhattan, Kansas|publisher=Kansas State University Department of Entomology|access-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814061543/https://blogs.k-state.edu/kansasbugs/2016/11/03/oak-leaf-itch-mite/|archive-date=August 14, 2020|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|first=Jo|last=DeVoe|date=July 28, 2021|url=https://www.arlnow.com/2021/07/28/residents-abuzz-over-mysterious-bug-bites-possibly-tied-to-cicadas/|title=Residents Abuzz Over Mysterious Bug Bites Possibly Tied to Cicadas|work=ARLnow|location=Arlington County, Virginia|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528041800/https://www.arlnow.com/2021/07/28/residents-abuzz-over-mysterious-bug-bites-possibly-tied-to-cicadas/|archive-date=May 28, 2024|url-status=live}}
• {{cite news|last=Wilder|first=Drew|date=July 30, 2021|url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/mysterious-nasty-bug-bites-stump-arlington-health-officials/2751051/|title=Mysterious, Nasty Bug Bites Stump Arlington Health Officials|work=NBC4 Washington|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=March 10, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209041755/https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/mysterious-nasty-bug-bites-stump-arlington-health-officials/2751051/|archive-date=December 9, 2023|url-status=live}} Contains 1:38 minute video showing images and descriptions of Pyemotes herfsi bites.
• {{cite news|last=Silverman|first=Ellie|date=July 30, 2021|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/30/oak-mites-bite-cicadas-dc/|title=Oak-mite bites: Cicadas may have left D.C. region an itchy gift|newspaper=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=January 27, 2024}}
• {{cite news|first=Steven|last=Vargas|date=August 4, 2021|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/08/03/pyemotes-oak-tree-itch-mites-cicada-washington-dc-region/5478360001/|title=Cicadas may be gone, but here come itch mites causing mysterious bites in Washington, DC, region|newspaper=USA Today|location=Tysons, Virginia|access-date=September 3, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811140215/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/08/03/pyemotes-oak-tree-itch-mites-cicada-washington-dc-region/5478360001/|archive-date=August 11, 2024|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|date=August 13, 2021|last=Shrewsbury|first=Paula|url=https://extension.umd.edu/resource/oak-leaf-itch-mites-and-periodical-cicada-eggs/|title=Oak Leaf Itch Mites and Periodical Cicada Eggs|work=University of Maryland Extension|publisher=University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources|access-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604234309/https://extension.umd.edu/resource/oak-leaf-itch-mites-and-periodical-cicada-eggs/|archive-date=June 4, 2023|url-status=live}}
• {{cite news|first=Shen Wu|last=Tan|date=August 24, 2021|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/aug/24/oak-mites-making-dc-area-residents-itchy/|title=Oak mites making D.C.-area residents itchy; tiny bugs feed on cicadas|newspaper=The Washington Times|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=September 3, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001022159/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/aug/24/oak-mites-making-dc-area-residents-itchy/|archive-date=October 1, 2022|url-status=live}}

Significant numbers of periodical cicadas, believed to be Brood X emergents that were four years early, appeared throughout the brood's range in 2000 and in the Baltimore, Maryland–Washington, D.C. area in May 2017.{{cite news|last=Dance|first=Scott|date=2017-05-16|title=As cicadas emerge four years early, scientists wonder if climate change is providing a nudge|work=The Baltimore Sun|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/environment/bs-md-early-cicadas-20170516-story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711222844/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/environment/bs-md-early-cicadas-20170516-story.html|archive-date=July 11, 2020|access-date=2017-05-21}}

During a year that Brood X emerged and Ogden Nash was living in Baltimore, The New Yorker magazine published Nash's June 12, 1936, poem Locust-Lovers, Attention!.Multiple sources:

• {{cite magazine|last1=Nash|first1=Ogden|author-link=Ogden Nash|date=June 12, 1936|title=Locust-Lovers, Attention!|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1936/06/20/locust-lovers-attention |access-date=April 18, 2021|magazine=The New Yorker (June 20, 1936)}}
• {{cite web|first=Nathan|last= Dennies|date=November 27, 2018|url=https://explore.baltimoreheritage.org/items/show/270|title=Ogden Nash at 4300 Rugby Road|work=Explore Baltimore Heritage|access-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121074904/https://explore.baltimoreheritage.org/items/show/270|archive-date=January 21, 2021|url-status=live}} Nash's 1938 collection I'm a Stranger Here Myself reprinted the humorous verse.{{cite book|last1=Nash|first1=Ogden|author-link=Ogden Nash|year=1938|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/imstrangerheremy0000unse/page/242/mode/2up|chapter=Locust-Lovers, Attention!|url=https://archive.org/details/imstrangerheremy0000unse/page/n8/mode/1up|title=I'm a Stranger Here Myself|pages=242–243|oclc=654970019|lccn=unk82047212|location=Boston|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|access-date=April 18, 2021|via=Internet Archive|quote=
  My attention has been recently focussed
  Upon the seventeen year locust.
  This is the year
  When the seventeen–year locusts are here,
  Which is the chief reason my attention has been focussed
  Upon the seventeen–year locust. ....}} His poem The Sunset Years of Samuel Pride mentions the 17–year cyclical swarms of the "locusts".{{cite web|url=https://www.poemhunter.com/i/poem_images/957/the-sunset-years-of-samuel-shy.jpg|title=The Sunset Years of Samuel Pride|format=poem|publisher=PoemHunter.com|access-date=April 18, 2021|quote=
  .... The sound of their kisses
  is loud in my ears
  Like the locusts that swarm every 17 years. ....}}

Bob Dylan's song Day of the Locusts in his 1970 album New Morning refers to the Brood X cicadas that were noisily present in Princeton, New Jersey in June 1970 when Dylan received an honorary degree from Princeton University.Multiple sources:

• {{cite web|year=1970|author=Big Sky Music|url=https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/day-locusts/|format=song lyrics|title=Day of the Locusts: Written by Bob Dylan|work=Bob Dylan Newsletter|publisher=Sony Music Entertainment|access-date=May 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430083530/https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/day-locusts/|archive-date=April 30, 2021|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|first=James|last=Barron|author-link=James Barron (journalist)|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/04/science/cicadas-they-re-back.html|title=Cicadas: They're Back!|work=The New York Times|date=June 4, 1996|access-date=May 26, 2021}}
• {{cite news|first=Cameron W.|last=Barr|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/03/28/in-dc-area-its-the-day-of-the-cicada/d6157615-00e0-4793-abd5-9c6e15661815/|title=In D.C. Area. It's the Day Of the Cicada|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=A1|date=March 28, 2004|access-date=May 26, 2021|quote=During Brood X's 1970 emergence, Bob Dylan visited Princeton University in New Jersey, part of X's vast patch, to collect an honorary degree. Musical lore says he wasn't impressed with the university or the degree. But he added to the immortality of cicadas with a song he wrote about the occasion, "Day of the Locusts." ....|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302181844/https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2farchive%2fpolitics%2f2004%2f03%2f28%2fin-dc-area-its-the-day-of-the-cicada%2fd6157615-00e0-4793-abd5-9c6e15661815%2f|archive-date=March 2, 2021|url-status=live}}
• {{cite magazine|first=Austin|last=Scaggs|date=August 21, 2008|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dylan-gets-a-degree-calls-it-day-of-the-locusts-79985/|title=Dylan gets a Degree, Calls It Day of the Locusts|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=May 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119064800/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dylan-gets-a-degree-calls-it-day-of-the-locusts-79985/|archive-date=January 19, 2021|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|first=Tony|last=Attwood|date=May 11, 2013|url=https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/334|title=Day of the Locusts; Bob Dylan and his two degrees|work=Untold Dylan: The meaning behind the music and words of Bob Dylan|access-date=May 26, 2021|via=WordPress|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303153924/https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/334|archive-date=March 3, 2021|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|first=David|last=Weir|date=August 21, 2015|url=https://bobdylansonganalysis.wordpress.com/2015/08/21/day-of-the-locusts/|title=Bob Dylan Song Analysis: Day of the Locusts|access-date=May 26, 2021|via=WordPress|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131153258/https://bobdylansonganalysis.wordpress.com/2015/08/21/day-of-the-locusts/|archive-date=January 31, 2021|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|first=Jochen|last=Markhorst|date=December 4, 2019|url=https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/12132|title=Dylan's Day Of The Locusts: the revenge of the grasshopper|work=Untold Dylan: The meaning behind the music and words of Bob Dylan|access-date=May 27, 2021|via=WordPress|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227131158/https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/12132|archive-date=February 27, 2021|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/bob-dylan/day-of-the-locusts|title=Day Of The Locusts by Bob Dylan|work=Songfacts|year=2021|access-date=May 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526225857/https://www.songfacts.com/facts/bob-dylan/day-of-the-locusts|archive-date=May 26, 2021|url-status=live|quote=In 1970 Dylan was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Princeton University. Dylan became very uncomfortable at the event, especially when he was asked to wear a cap and gown. Adding a dramatic biblical flourish, the Princeton campus was in the throes of a locust infestation that day, something the occurs every 17 years.
  The song title is a reference to the 1939 novel by American author Nathanel West (1903-40), The Day of the Locust. West had worked for a time in Hollywood as a scriptwriter and the book explores the seamy underside of the American movie industry. The novel's title is thought to be a biblical allusion to certain passages in the Old Testament such as in the Book of Joel 2: 25, "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten."}}

When Brood X re-emerged in 1987, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed in a radio address: "Like the cicadas, the big spenders are hatching out again and threatening to overrun Congress." He then asked his listeners to support a balanced budget amendment and the line item veto to "make the cicadas in Congress go back underground."{{cite magazine|first=Asawin|last=Suebsaeng|date=May 10, 2013|url=https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/05/political-history-cicadas-ronald-reagan/|title=A Political History of the Cicadas|magazine=Mother Jones|access-date=June 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523213633/https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/05/political-history-cicadas-ronald-reagan/|archive-date=May 23, 2021|url-status=live}}

Brood X next emerged in 2004. During that year's presidential election campaign, the Republican National Committee placed on the web an advertisement that compared Democratic candidate John Kerry to a periodical cicada. The ad portrayed a cicada's face changing into a picture of a confused-looking Kerry while stating:

Every 17 years, cicadas emerge, morph out of their shell, and change their appearance. Like a cicada, Senator Kerry would like to shed his Senate career and morph into a fiscal conservative, a centrist Democrat opposed to taxes, strong on defense."{{cite magazine|first=Asawin|last=Suebsaeng|date=May 10, 2013|url=https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/05/political-history-cicadas-ronald-reagan/|format=includes video of the Republican National Committee's advertisement|title=A Political History of the Cicadas|magazine=Mother Jones|access-date=June 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523213633/https://www.motherjones.com/food/2013/05/political-history-cicadas-ronald-reagan/|archive-date=May 23, 2021|url-status=live}}

Nate Powell's 2008 graphic novel Swallow Me Whole thanks "brood X cicadae of 2004" on its acknowledgments page.[https://archive.org/details/swallowmewhole00powe/page/n220/mode/1up Powell, p. 218.] His book's front cover and last page contain cartoons depicting cicada swarms.Multiple sources:

• [https://archive.org/details/swallowmewhole00powe/mode/2up Powell, front cover]
• [https://archive.org/details/swallowmewhole00powe/page/n219/mode/2up Powell, p. 219.]

In 2015, singer-songwriter Keith M. Lyndaker Schlabach recorded the song Cicadance at the Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community (RRSRC) near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The song's background contains a field recording of the sound that Brood X produced at the RRSRC during its 2004 emergence. The song, which celebrates the brood, also references the brood's most recent prior emergence in 1987.Multiple sources:

• {{cite web|first=Keith M.|last=Lyndaker Schlabach|url=https://archive.org/details/Cicadance|title=Cicadance|format=audio: 5:26 minutes|date=May 22, 2021|access-date=May 23, 2021|via=Internet Archive|quote=Celebrating Brood X, recorded live at RRSRC in 2015. Added field recording of 2004 Brood as background.}}
• {{cite web|url=https://rollingridge.net/about/|title=About Rolling Ridge Study Retreat|year=2021|location=Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|publisher=Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community|access-date=May 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121144650/https://rollingridge.net/about/|archive-date=January 21, 2021|url-status=live}}

During the brood's 2021 emergence, country singer Toby T. Swift released the novelty song Cicada Love Call in Nashville, Tennessee. The song, which Swift first wrote during the brood's 2004 emergence, compares to a cicada a woman who is trying to re-join her reluctant ex-husband after leaving him for another man 17 years earlier.Multiple sources:

• {{cite web|last=Swift|first=Toby T.|date=May 5, 2021|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHW-ZZ2htgU|format=music video|title=Cicada Love Call|publisher=Toby Swift Music|via=YouTube|id=Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises|access-date=May 25, 2021}}
• {{cite news|author=BWW News Desk|date=May 7, 2021|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Country-Singer-Toby-T-Swift-Drops-New-Song-Cicada-Love-Call-20210507/|title=Country Singer Toby T. Swift Drops New Song 'Cicada Love Call': "You're a cicada, you're a cicada, you've come back to bug me after 17 years," Swift sings.|work=BroadwayWorld|publisher=Wisdom Digital Media|access-date=May 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519154115/https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Country-Singer-Toby-T-Swift-Drops-New-Song-Cicada-Love-Call-20210507|archive-date=May 19, 2021|url-status=live|quote="Even though in the song it sounds like I don't like cicadas, I think they're fun," Swift said.}}
• {{cite press release |first=F. |last=Henderson |url=https://www.ktvn.com/story/43875043/cicada-love-call-is-a-different-kind-of-mating-song|title='Cicada Love Call' is a Different Kind of Mating Song: Country Singer Toby T. Swift Releases Debut Single |date=May 12, 2021|work=Toby Swift Music |via=KTVN |access-date=May 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513162246/https://www.ktvn.com/story/43875043/cicada-love-call-is-a-different-kind-of-mating-song|archive-date=May 13, 2021}}

Also during the brood's 2021 emergence, singer-songwriter Sue Fink released her Cicada Suite, which contains two songs entitled Don't Berate a Cicada and Hymn of the Cicada. The first song begins with a recording of the insect's sound. Fink issued Cicada Suite on cicada-shaped flash drives.{{cite web|first=Sue|last=Fink|author-link=Sue Fink|url=https://suefink.com/cs/|format=includes excerpts from songs|title=Cicada Suite|publisher=Sue Fink|

access-date=June 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626191329/https://suefink.com/cs/|archive-date=June 26, 2021|url-status=live}}

• Brood II
• Brood V
• Brood XIII
• Brood XIV

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Kalm|first=Peter|author-link=Pehr Kalm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qG0FAAAAQAAJ&q=%22By+Peter+Kalm%22|title=Travels into North America: Translated into English, By John Reinhold Foster|year=1771|volume=2|oclc=181836781|location=London |publisher=T. Lowndess|access-date=April 23, 2021|via=Google Books}}
• {{cite book|last=Kritsky|first=Gene|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C9X4663giukC&pg=PA43|chapter=John Bartram and the Periodical Cicadas: A Case Study|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C9X4663giukC|title=America's Curious Botanist: A Tercentennial Reappraisal of John Bartram 1699-1777|editor1=Hoffmann, Nancy E.|editor2=Van Horne, John C|lccn=2003050212|isbn=0-87169-249-X|oclc=123342945|publisher=The American Philosophical Society |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|year=2004|access-date=September 7, 2020|via=Google Books}}
• {{cite book|last=Latrobe|first=John H. B. |author-link=John H. B. Latrobe|url=https://archive.org/details/memoirbenjaminb00socigoog/page/n7/mode/1up|title=Memoir of Benjamin Banneker: Read before the Maryland Historical Society at the Monthly Meeting, May 1, 1845|location=Baltimore, Maryland|publisher=Maryland Historical Society |year=1845|lccn=rc01003345|oclc=85791076|access-date=February 29, 2020|via=Internet Archive}}
• {{cite book|last1=Powell|first1=Nate|author-link=Nate Powell|editor-first=Chris|editor-last=Staros|url=https://archive.org/details/swallowmewhole00powe/page/n7/mode/2up|title=Swallow Me Whole|date=2008|isbn=978-1-60309-033-9|oclc=812189446|lccn=2012376553|location=Marietta, Georgia|publisher=Top Shelf Productions|access-date=April 23, 2021|via=Internet Archive}}

• {{cite book|last=Kritsky|first=Gene|date=February 26, 2021|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mq8-zgEACAAJ|title=Periodical Cicadas: The Brood X Edition|location=Columbus, Ohio|publisher=Ohio Biological Survey|isbn=978-0-86727-173-7|oclc=1246784386|access-date=May 6, 2021|via=Google Books}}
• {{cite web|first=Stephanie |date=June 2017 |last=Marcus|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/selected-internet/cicadas.html|title=Periodical Cicadas: Selected Internet Resources|website=Library of Congress|access-date=May 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308225805/https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/selected-internet/cicadas.html|archive-date=March 8, 2021}}

{{commons category}}

• [https://www.npr.org/podcasts/989096781/brood-x-the-cicada-podcast 2021: The Brood X: The Cicada Podcast] from Mount St. Joseph University and Cincinnati Public Radio
• {{cite web|last=Moore|first=Thomas E.|url=http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/g900a.htm|title=Generalized distributions of extant 17-year broods of periodical cicadas|format=figure|work=Singing Insects of North America|publisher=University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences|date=July 2, 2002|access-date=2011-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828002638/http://buzz.ifas.ufl.edu/g900m17y.htm|archive-date=2008-08-28}}

{{Cicada Broods}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brood 10}}

Category:Cicadas

Category:Fauna of the Eastern United States