This May, parts of the southern Miami Valley will see another round of Cicada's emerging from seclusion. This round of Cicadas is known as Brood 14. Noted for the distinctive, often annoying hum of their collective mating calls, cicadas can also damage trees and ornamental shrubs in heavily infested areas.
Harmless to humans, the 1-1/2-inch winged insect can damage deciduous trees, primarily oak, apple, dogwood, and hickory, as well as newly planted ornamentals. While the cicada's roar is produced by a chorus of mate-hunting males, any damage is the work of female cicadas.
Each female emerges from the ground to lay hundreds of eggs in inch-long slits she has cut in pencil-sized tree branches. These slits can weaken young or otherwise susceptible trees, killing off the affected branches or leaving openings for disease.
To help reduce cicada damage, it is recommended to homeowners that they not prune trees this spring. Instead, damaged twigs may be pruned out later in the summer, after the cicada invasion has run its course. In affected areas of the state, most tree damage can be avoided by delaying new plantings of woody ornamentals and trees until fall or the following spring.
Brood 14 is expected to emerge in Champaign, Greene, Warren, Clinton and Butler counties within the Miami Valley. This brood of Cicadas will appear in 12 states.
For more information regarding insecticide recommendations, homeowners should contact their local extension agent or entomologist, being certain to follow all insecticide label directions carefully.
FAQ:What Do You Know About Cicadas?All About Brood 14Map: Where Will Brood 14 Emerge?Color A Cicada(Requires Adobe Acrobat)Cicada Teaching ResourcesSurvey:Afraid of a Cicada?
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