Where the 17-Year Cicada Brood Is: Cold Weather Wraps East Coast (Map)

The East Coast has been waiting for the massive 17-year cicada brood to pop out of the ground for weeks now. News agencies (including this one) have reported a few individual insects emerging from the earth--but nothing like in the numbers that we're supposed to see. So where are all of the cicadas? That's a very good question, and there may be an answer.

It simply just hasn't been warm enough for the insects to appear. Cicadas will begin to emerge once temperatures start to get warm. Yet this past Memorial Day weekend, nocturnal temperatures were below freezing in Pennsylvania--that's definitely not warm.

"The strange weather may have a detrimental effect on the brood," said Gary Hevel, a research collaborator with the Smithsonian Institution's entomology department, in an interview with The Atlantic Cities. "I would expect that stronger numbers will occur in the following weeks as weather temperatures rise...at least in those areas of previous occurrence, as reflected by the earlier records. Hopefully, it is not just an 'off' year for a successful emergence."

Cicadas are somewhat large insects--about the size of a large cockroach. After first emerging from the ground, the cicada will be in its nymph stage with a dirty brown carapace and no wings. But it won't be long before it breaks free from its shell and emerges with iridescent wings. It will then participate in a several week frenzy of feeding, mating, and egg laying before finally dying. Thousands of these insects are expected to litter the ground. Historically, the Brood II group, the one that emerges every 17 years, has been so prolific that picking up their carcasses can sometimes feel like raking leaves in the fall, according to National Geographic.

Yet not everyone will get to see these cicadas. Big cities like New York and Washington, D.C. likely won't see as many cicadas as the suburbs. That's because the insects like unpaved ground and lots of trees--two components that large cities are usually without.

The cicadas are already emerging despite the cool temperatures, though. In fact, RadioLab has actually built an interactive map that relies on people tracking the insects themselves. If you're too afraid to go outside, you can see the insects emerge on your computer screen. You can check it out on the map for yourself below.

So where are all of the cicadas? They're likely still underground, waiting for the perfect temperatures before they begin to make their loud calls across the East Coast.