Brood X

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Brood X cicada

Brood X ( Brood 10 , Great Eastern Brood ; German : Brut X ) is a population of Periodic Cicadas ( Magicicada ) in the eastern United States . Every 17th year Brood X cicadas burrow en masse to the surface of the earth, lay eggs and die within a few weeks.

Mass slip
Loopholes under stone slabs

The combination of long dormancy , occurrence in large numbers and short visibility on the surface of the earth before the nymphs disappear again into the safety of the earth, enables the cicadas to survive despite massive losses by predators.

Brood X is one of twelve populations of cicada with a life cycle of 17 years. It is the largest population and the highest number of individuals. The last occurrence of Brood X occurred in spring 2021. The next occurrence is expected in 2038.

history

A cicada from Brood X, Princeton, New Jersey, 2004
Brood X swarms in Ohio 2004

Pehr Kalm , a Swedish naturalist who visited Pennsylvania and New Jersey on behalf of his government in 1749, observed an occurrence in late May. In an article in a Swedish academic journal from 1756, Kalm wrote:

“The general opinion is that these insects appear in these fantastic numbers every seventeenth year. In the meantime, they remain underground, with the exception of a few specimens that appear in summer.
There is strong evidence that these insects appear in Pennsylvania every seventeen years. "

Kalm goes on to describe documents (including some received from Benjamin Franklin ) showing that mass incursions had occurred in Pennsylvania in May 1715 and May 1732. He also notes that only a few sightings were reported to him prior to the mass occurrence in 1749 and that he had not encountered any cicadas in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 1750.

Kalm summarized his observations in an article that was translated into English in 1771. Marlatt also referred to him later.

In April 1800, Benjamin Banneker , near Ellicott's Mills, Maryland , recorded three Brood X occurrences when he wrote a "great locust year" in 1749 and a second in 1766 (in which the insects were "full as numerous as the first ”) and the third in 1783. He predicted that the insects“ can be expected again in 1800, which is the seventeenth year after their third appearance with me ”.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the entomologist Charles Lester Marlatt identified 30 different populations, of which around 15 could also be confirmed over the years.

In the spring and summer of 2004, Brood X performed in areas of Illinois , Michigan , New York, and Georgia . 17 years later, in the spring of 2021, it reappeared, also on the east coast.

Brood X and the human

In pop culture

Bob Dylan's song Day of the Locusts from the album New Morning (1970) refers to an appearance by Brood X in Princeton in June 1970, when Dylan received an honorary doctorate from the university there .

As a food insect

Singing cicadas like Magicicada belong to the edible insects and can be used as food insects , especially the nymphs. Individual insect chefs on the US east coast brought dishes with periodic cicadas from Brood X to the menu in 2021, for example in paella, on pizzas and as sushi.

Web links

Commons : Brood X  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Susan L. Post: A Trill of a Lifetime: More Information About the Periodical Cicada . In: Illinois Natural History Survey . Prairie Research Institute. Summer 2004. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  2. ↑ Tagesspiegel (April 5, 2021): Invasion of the Drum Rollers .
  3. ↑ Time (May 22, 2021): 17 years underground .
  4. ^ A b Thomas E. Moore: Genus Magicicada periodical cicadas . In: Singing Insects of North America . University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences . April 27, 2001. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  5. ↑ a b c d J.J. Davis: 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. KE Doak) Archived from the original on October 2 2012. In: The Ohio Journal of Science . 53, May 1953, pp. 139-140. Republished by Knowledge Bank: The Ohio State University Libraries and Office of the Chief Information Officer . Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  6. ^ "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. "Davis 1953.
  7. ↑ Peter Kalm: Travels into North America: Translated into English, By John Reinhold Foster , Volume 2. T. Lowndess, London 1771, pp. 212-213. .
  8. ^ CL Marlatt: The Periodical Cicada in Literature . In: 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 (Bulletin No. 14 - New Series, US Department of Agriculture, Division of Entomology) . United States Government Printing Office , Washington, DC 1898, pp. 112-118. .
  9. ^ "May be expected again in the year 1800, which is seventeen years since their third appearance to me". John HB, Esq. Latrobe: Memoir of Benjamin Banneker: Read before the Maryland Historical Society at the Monthly Meeting, May 1, 1845 . Printed by John D. Toy, Baltimore, Maryland 1845, pp. 11-12 (accessed April 18, 2021).
  10. ^ Susan L. Post: A Trill of a Lifetime. University of Illinois 2004 ( inhs.uiuc.edu ( Memento of May 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )).
  11. ↑ James Barron: Cicadas: They're Back! . In: The New York Times . June 4, 1996. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  12. ^ Are Periodical Cicadas Coming to Your Town - Magicicada Broods and Brood Maps . Cicadamania.com. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  13. ^ Bob Dylan Receives Honorary Princeton Degree | Music News . In: Rolling Stone . July 9, 1970. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  14. ↑ Cameron W. Barr. "In DC Area. It's the Day Of the Cicada " . The Washington Post . page A1. March 28, 2004. April 18, 2021.
  15. ↑ Wired / Kate Knibbs (May 11, 2021): The Cicadas Are Coming. Let's Eat Them! .
  16. ↑ N-TV (May 25, 2021): Cicada Invasion - US chef advertises insect sushi .