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Brood X cicadas will swarm several states from the beginning of April until May.

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Posted at 4:57 AM, Mar 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-24 13:30:55-04

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The buzzing and clicking noises is a sound that is associated with summer.

According to the Texas Entomology, there are more than 40 species of locusts also called cicadas that call Texas home.

“And I'm like, oh is that grasshoppers, no that’s cicadas,” says Corpus Christi resident, Joy.

Assistant professor at Texas A&M Dalton Ludwick says the last time Texas saw an emergence of cicadas was in 2015.

“We don’t have as many periodical cicadas down here," says Ludwick. "We do have some other cicada species, but they are not the 13- or 17-year cicadas."

Beginning in late April or early May, billions of Brood X cicadas will be seen across a dozen states. But Ludwick says the Coastal Bend won't experience this event like many others across the country.

Instead, we’ll be visited by the Brood IV species in 2032.

Cicadas need trees to lay their eggs in, so Ludwick says people should avoid planting fruit trees or small shrubs as that event nears.

“You don’t really want to plant those when you have those large emergences because you can have a bunch of females come in to lay eggs and they cause death to those small branches," he says.

The greatest number of cicadas is expected in the last two weeks of May nationwide. Researchers are hoping to track them.

To record periodical cicada emergences, Cicada Safari is an app in which you can submit photos to help determine the range of Brood X across several states. You can find more information about the Cicada Safari app here.