Along the east coast the famous Brood II cicadas are emerging after 17 years feeding from tree roots. Periodical cicadas are a uniquely North American phenomenon and among our greatest natural spectacles, with massive numbers of large, charismatic insects emerging in different places each year. Where will they emerge this year? And next year?
Your challenge is to rearrange the following American places in chronological order, starting this year, of when the periodical cicadas will next appear.
- Charleston, WV
- Kenosha, WI
- Hartford, CT
- Cayuga, NY
- Morehead, KY
- Indianapolis, IN
The first person to produce the correct order will earn 10 Myrmecos points, and the cumulative points winner across all mysteries for the month of May will win their choice of 1) any 8×10-sized print from my insect photography galleries, or 2) a guest post here on Myrmecos.
If you need inspiration, here’s David Attenborough:
2013 (next 2030) Hartford, CT
2016 Charleston, WV
2018 Cayuga, NY
2021 Indianapolis, IN
2024 Kenosha, WI
2025 Morehead, KY
Hartford, CT (2013)
Cayuga, NY (2013)
Charleston, WV (2016)
Kenosha, WI (2024)
Indianapolis, IN (2025)
Morehead, KY (2025)
This is my guess, if we don’t take into account broods with a 13-year cycle.
using data from the UConn Magicicada Database:
2013 Cayuga, NY Brood II
2013 Hartford, CT Brood II
2016 Charleston, WV Brood V
2024 Indianapolis, IN Brood XIII
2024 Kenosha, WI Brood XIII
2025 Morehead, KY Brood XIV
Here is my uneducated guess, not taking broods or dames into account:
This year:
CT, IN, KY, NY and WV
Next year:
WI
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