Some parts of our region will witness another cicada emergence this spring and summer – the arrival of Brood XIV.
According to the USDA Forest Service, this brood of cicadas will be seen emerging after the ground warms above 64 degrees, and will stay around for four to six weeks. 
Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina will see the insects return this year. In West Virginia, the cicadas are likely to be seen in southwestern counties and in the Eastern Panhandle/Potomac Highlands counties of Morgan, Berkeley, Jefferson, Hampshire and Hardy.
The large insects come out of the ground every 17 years after feeding on plant roots. They emerge from the soil periodically and complete their final transformation into adulthood. After breeding, females place their eggs in slits they make in tree branches. Once the egg hatches, the larvae drop to the ground and burrow into the soil, where they stay for more than a decade.
Cicadas are large, black and orange in color and can make loud choruses during their mating process. They are eaten readily by predators.
