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On The Record

Getting Closer To Showtime: Brood X Cicadas!

About 1.5 million Brood X Cicadas per acre are likely to begin to emerge in mid-May throughout Maryland and several other states.
Copyright Mike Raupp

It’s been so long, you may not remember them. They’ve been living, silently and unseen, underground since 2004. Now they’re back! The Brood X Cicadas are expected in the millions this month -- We hear all about it from ‘the bug guy’ Mike Raupp, Professor Emeritus of Entomology and Extension Specialist at The University of Maryland:

“After they’re in the treetops it's gonna be all about romance, it’s gonna be a big party up in the sky. Remember these are teenagers, living a Covid-like existence for 17 years.”

Plus Patsy Helmetag and Kita Helmetag Murdock, the authors of ‘Cecily Cicada’ talk about how the children’s book has helped alleviate fear of the phenomenon for kids and adults alike.

Links: The Bug Guy, Cicada Crew, Cecily Cicada book, Cicada Safari phone app.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'