Home » Science & Nature » Science Websites » Brood X

Brood X

© Zany

Brood X has been in the news recently. Do you know why?

Have you ever heard of an insect called a cicada (suh KAY duh or suh KAH duh)? Take a look at BugBios. Here you will see that cicadas are of the Family Cicadidae, Order Homoptera. Related insects are the lantern bug, leafhopper, mealy bug, aphid and stinkbug. These bugs are distinguished by piercing mouthparts arising from the back rather than the front of their heads. Cicadas are plant eating, flying insects with clear wings. Male cicadas sing by causing two drumlike organs called tymbals to resonate. There are two types of cicadas - annual and periodic.

Annual cicadas appear every year. The dog day cicada (or dog day cicada or dog day cicada), belonging to the genus Tibicen, is an example of an annual cicada.

Periodical cicadas live underground as nymphs for 13 or 17 years before they emerge. They survive by sucking fluid from the roots of trees. They emerge by constructing an exit tunnel. Cicada Hunt documents the emergence of the cicadas and their molting into adulthood. It is quite an interesting site. Periodical cicadas belong to the genus Magicicada. When periodic cicadas emerge, they can number in the millions. The collective name given to all the periodical cicadas that emerge in a given year is brood. According to the web site Cicadas.info , Charles Marlett came up with the idea of using roman numerals to track emergences. Marlett assigned the numerals I(1)-XVII(17) to represent the years of the seventeen year periodical cicada and XVIII(18)-XXX(30) to represent the years of the thirteen year periodical cicadas. But not all broods exist. Scientists have seen only 12 broods of 17 year cicadas and only 3 broods of 13 year cicadas. On the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's web site, there is a chart of the various broods and the years that they have emerged. The broods' ranges are also included. The 17 year periodic cicada that is emerging this year is named Brood X.

You would think that the emergence of millions of insects at one time would not be a lot of fun. But, there are many enthusiasts out there that look forward to an event such as this. Sites such as Cicada Mania allow you to document your experiences and share them with others. May you enjoy the emergence of Brood X and learn something at the same time.

The copyright of the article Brood X in Science Websites is owned by Zany. Permission to republish Brood X in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.