‘Straggler’ cicadas may appear this year: Here’s where

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‘Straggler’ cicadas may appear this year: Here’s where

The Hill
by Addy Bink
04/12/26



(NEXSTAR) – After a busy few years for cicada broods emerging, 2026 will seem like a quiet year in much of the U.S.

Two years ago, a double awakening of two broods led to a “cicada-geddon,” with the noisy, “honeydew”-producing insects infiltrating much of the eastern U.S. Last year, a single brood awoke from its 17-year slumber to buzz in a handful of states.

Unfortunately for cicada hunters, no major broods are expected to emerge this year.

You may still spot a periodical cicada, though. They’re known, aptly, as stragglers.

These cicadas, sometimes described as being off-cycle, appear when their brood is not expected to emerge. They may appear in a region known to be home to a different brood, too, according to the University of Connecticut.

Typically, straggler cicadas can be seen within one year or four years of their brood’s emergence, Michael Skvarla, an assistant research professor and head of the Insect Identification Laboratory at Penn State University, told Nexstar. (Research shows straggler cicadas may appear at other increments as well.)

“Occasionally, you’ll get some 17-year cicadas that pop out at 13 [years], which is probably how the 13-year cicada broods evolved,” Skvarla explained, adding that the cicadas may also appear four years after their expected emergence at the 21-year mark.

Why, you may ask?

“We don’t know, precisely,” Skvarla said.

(more)
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5827830-straggler-cicadas-this-year-heres-where/

[Idiot]

‘Straggler’ cicadas may appear this year: Here’s where

The Hill
by Addy Bink
04/12/26



(NEXSTAR) – After a busy few years for cicada broods emerging, 2026 will seem like a quiet year in much of the U.S.

Two years ago, a double awakening of two broods led to a “cicada-geddon,” with the noisy, “honeydew”-producing insects infiltrating much of the eastern U.S. Last year, a single brood awoke from its 17-year slumber to buzz in a handful of states.

Unfortunately for cicada hunters, no major broods are expected to emerge this year.

You may still spot a periodical cicada, though. They’re known, aptly, as stragglers.

These cicadas, sometimes described as being off-cycle, appear when their brood is not expected to emerge. They may appear in a region known to be home to a different brood, too, according to the University of Connecticut.

Typically, straggler cicadas can be seen within one year or four years of their brood’s emergence, Michael Skvarla, an assistant research professor and head of the Insect Identification Laboratory at Penn State University, told Nexstar. (Research shows straggler cicadas may appear at other increments as well.)

“Occasionally, you’ll get some 17-year cicadas that pop out at 13 [years], which is probably how the 13-year cicada broods evolved,” Skvarla explained, adding that the cicadas may also appear four years after their expected emergence at the 21-year mark.

Why, you may ask?

“We don’t know, precisely,” Skvarla said.

(more)
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5827830-straggler-cicadas-this-year-heres-where/

We used to always catch them when we were kids and let them latch onto a blackcat then light it and let them fly into oblivion.  The joys of youth...