Ready or Not, the Cicadas Are Here

Enjoy the relative quiet outside while you can.

Two weeks ago, only about 13% of ARLnow poll respondents reported having seen a cicada so far this spring. That’s rapidly changing.

All around Arlington, locals are reporting cicada sightings. From Fairlington to Columbia Pike to Ballston to Westover to Lyon Village to the Rosslyn area, members of Brood X are emerging from their dirt homes of the past 17 years in rising numbers.

According to the Capital Weather Gang, the awakening is suddenly happening throughout the D.C. area. And there’s a lot more to come.

On Capital Weather Gang’s Twitter feed, we’ve received dozens of reports of the insects in Northern Virginia, Maryland and the District.

Monday morning brought a sudden increase in sightings after only isolated reports of early cicadas in the past one to two weeks. The emergence was somewhat unexpected given the lower-than-normal temperatures since Friday.

Despite the surge of reports, the insects haven’t crawled out of their holes everywhere, and a more massive swarm still awaits.

Below are some of the cicada sightings reported to ARLnow on social media.

@ARLnowDOTcom Cicadas emerging now in Westover pic.twitter.com/cUJMBSlSbB

— Susan (@Suethirsty) May 10, 2021

I had not yet seen a #cicada this season, until this guy literally dropped in on me a few minutes ago to say “Hello, Tom”. #cicadas #BroodX #Every17Years ⁦@capitalweather⁩ ⁦@ARLnowDOTcom⁩ pic.twitter.com/DVN1kLfLWm

— Tom Mockler (@TomMockler) May 10, 2021

Cicadas starting to emerge in the neighborhood in Arlington, VA. None in our shaded yard yet, but lots of holes… #cicadas #broodx #cicadawatch2021 @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/9XS2S944MV

— Jen Molnar (@molnar_jen) May 10, 2021

Front and backyard in Yorktown. Birds and squirrels are having an all you can eat buffet right now.

— Suzanne Mund (@suzannegmund) May 11, 2021

Penrose pic.twitter.com/NBxUDc2fy6

— christie (@crispyweathers) May 11, 2021

https://twitter.com/hoborocks/status/1391949360804634627

I've seen over 50 in Arlington Village pic.twitter.com/0jjt81aq7i

— Erin Pollard (@emp04) May 11, 2021

Just couple crawlers out around Ashton Heights, and we found a tree that had a few husks that had already been discarded. Not much compared to what's coming, but more holes on the ground than yesterday for sure! pic.twitter.com/VZI0gxQY3C

— Aaron Webb (@thebestWebb) May 11, 2021

Some hatching this am – North Arlington near Chain Bridge pic.twitter.com/qGkToEZsgn

— roo (@Rooroxx) May 11, 2021

https://twitter.com/MorganSendek/status/1391956746206339077

Near Arl/FC border. pic.twitter.com/E97mgwPQRk

— Molly (@mollysartstuff) May 11, 2021

https://twitter.com/MorganSendek/status/1391956746206339077

Photo courtesy Geoff Collins