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E PA/NJ/DE Spring 2021 OBS Thread


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Just now, Birds~69 said:

I'll give it whirl.

Thankfully by June or so things ease off a bit...

Worth a shot that drug has saved my azz every bad allergy season since 2000, did have a couple several year periods where the allergy problem left me alone the immune system is wild and wacky

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1 hour ago, RedSky said:

According to the US forest service we don't even have this brood x in our region!

https://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/docs/CicadaBroodStaticMap.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1aEazDyNFOUEW8QZxLiBss8Q44V3KfJvOJLtekgekgZPVVXFs7EWnRMHQ

Does anybody have the correct answer about these Cicada's? I mean it's been in the news for months. 

 

 

Yeah, this is a head scratcher. I didn't even know anything about this? I have a feeling this Cicada thing will pass by without anyone really noticing much like 17 years ago when I didn't notice any difference. Nutjob inside me would like to see a plague of cicadas but I'm not seeing it...

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3 hours ago, RedSky said:

According to the US forest service we don't even have this brood x in our region!

https://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/docs/CicadaBroodStaticMap.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1aEazDyNFOUEW8QZxLiBss8Q44V3KfJvOJLtekgekgZPVVXFs7EWnRMHQ

Does anybody have the correct answer about these Cicada's? I mean it's been in the news for months. 

 

 

Just did a little research and learned a little more. I don't have any recollection of anything out of the ordinary in 2004 either, so it's a bit of I'll believe it when I see it.

Having said that, these guys apparently are busy from mid-May to the end of June, which is earlier than what they call "annual cicadas", who are around from the end of June through August, and what we are more familiar with.

They emerge, they say, when soil temperatures reach 64F, 8" below the surface. I'm not digging a hole to check the temp. here.

Apparently there are sightings from DC up through Maryland and out towards Harrisburg. Guess all those cool northeasterly breezes we had  didn't make it that far west.

Also, that map you gave a link to has us under a hatched area representing multiple broods, so it doesn't show brood X very well around here. 

I'll attach another map I found in a minute. Here it is, although it seems the density of coverage may vary from one area to the next.

Screenshot_20210519-204640_copy_1323x1098_copy_1280x1062_copy_1024x850.thumb.png.5747cfa9884d46fce963c3dd51fdd0d4.png

 

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3 minutes ago, KamuSnow said:

Just did a little research and learned a little more. I don't have any recollection of anything out of the ordinary in 2004 either, so it's a bit of I'll believe it when I see it.

Having said that, these guys apparently are busy from mid-May to the end of June, which is earlier than what they call "annual cicadas", who are around from the end of June through August, and what we are more familiar with.

They emerge, they say, when soil temperatures reach 64F, 8" below the surface. I'm not digging a hole to check the temp. here.

Apparently there are sightings from DC up through Maryland and out towards Harrisburg. Guess all those cool northeasterly breezes we had  didn't make it that far west.

Also, that map you gave a link to has us under a hatched area representing multiple broods, so it doesn't show brood X very well around here. 

I'll attach another map I found in a minute.

 

The more broods the better, giggity

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3 hours ago, Birds~69 said:

For people like me it's not only to cool things off but it helps immensely with allergies....it's a 2 in 1 benefit. With a predicted low of 57F tonight I will turn it off and maybe use a exhaust fan if needed...

I was able to get by without it although I thought about it for a minute. When it's hot and humid out, I like the inside like a walk in refrigerator, so the electric bill gets a little steep during the summer.

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49 minutes ago, KamuSnow said:

I was able to get by without it although I thought about it for a minute. When it's hot and humid out, I like the inside like a walk in refrigerator, so the electric bill gets a little steep during the summer.

Glenn going with 92F/humid Sunday and "yes" a walk in refrigerator/house is nice. Sunday may be my next lawn mowing day, have a beer outside afterwards then head indoors...

72F

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soil temps have been  well below normal. My basement temp are avg 61-62 degrees right now. The temps must be around 65 in my basement for the cicadas to emerge. The soil temps will rise once the moisture returns. The moisture helps hold in the the latent heat in the soil and enables the cicada to cleanly burrow out of the ground where they reside at about a 4-8 inch depth in the ground. 

Until then, the cicadas will remain in the ground especially if the soil is dry.  Cicadas love heat and humidity. We just do not have the humidity right now for them to mature as they need the moisture to start the burrowing process. Furthermore, cicadas rely on tree sap to feed. If the trees are severely stressed for moisture and sap production ( believe me these trees are really stressed by the lack of moisture for leaf production right now especially in the upper canopies of the trees) these insects know not to come out . The grass is also stressing out big time and will begin to turn yellow by next week if we do not get significant rains by Sunday. With humidities in the upper 20's to 30's, I can literally see the grass blades shriveling up with highs in the mid- upper 80's. The stream levels dropped another two- three inches today alone in my backyard and the clay soils are cracking-( usually do not see that until late summer) 

If we have  t-storms on Sat afternoon- evening that will help quickly bump up the soil temps. We have to have at least 1-2  inch of rain to reach the the soil areas of where the cicadas lie dormant.  Right now, I just do not see cicadas burrowing  with PWATs struggling to even reach one inch per hour with the extremely dry mid levels in the atmosphere and the lack of instability. Believe, once we have a good drenching downpour, they will begin to emerge quickly.

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6 minutes ago, Albedoman said:

soil temps have been  well below normal. My basement temp are avg 61-62 degrees right now. The temps must be around 65 in my basement for the cicadas to emerge. The soil temps will rise once the moisture returns. The moisture helps hold in the the latent heat in the soil and enables the cicada to cleanly burrow out of the ground where they reside at about a 4-8 inch depth in the ground. 

Until then, the cicadas will remain in the ground especially if the soil is dry.  Cicadas love heat and humidity. We just do not have the humidity right now for them to mature as they need the moisture to start the burrowing process. Furthermore, cicadas rely on tree sap to feed. If the trees are severely stressed for moisture and sap production ( believe me these trees are really stressed by the lack of moisture for leaf production right now especially in the upper canopies of the trees) these insects know not to come out . The grass is also stressing out big time and will begin to turn yellow by next week if we do not get significant rains by Sunday. With humidities in the upper 20's to 30's, I can literally see the grass blades shriveling up with highs in the mid- upper 80's. The stream levels dropped another two- three inches today alone in my backyard and the clay soils are cracking-( usually do not see that until late summer) 

If we have  t-storms on Sat afternoon- evening that will help quickly bump up the soil temps. We have to have at least 1-2  inch of rain to reach the the soil areas of where the cicadas lie dormant.  Right now, I just do not see cicadas burrowing  with PWATs struggling to even reach one inch per hour with the extremely dry mid levels in the atmosphere and the lack of instability. Believe, once we have a good drenching downpour, they will begin to emerge quickly.

Otherwise, do they just hang underground and wait? The next 10 day+ look pretty much dry....spotty stuff maybe.

72F

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15 hours ago, RedSky said:

According to the US forest service we don't even have this brood x in our region!

https://www.fs.fed.us/foresthealth/docs/CicadaBroodStaticMap.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1aEazDyNFOUEW8QZxLiBss8Q44V3KfJvOJLtekgekgZPVVXFs7EWnRMHQ

Does anybody have the correct answer about these Cicada's? I mean it's been in the news for months. 

 

 

the linked map has us in a hatched zone which apparently means multiple broods so i would assume that is both brood II (2013) as well as brood X (2021)...or i guess it could also just mean really big cicadas

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12 hours ago, RedSky said:

What a strange distribution map makes one wonder if they are spreading in territory over time.

On the other hand, I wonder what effect "urban sprawl" may have on them. I read last year about the decrease in PA lightening bug population and how our encroachment into their habitat was considered a contributing factor.  

Oh well, if we can't talk HECS, let's talk bugs!

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18 hours ago, RedSky said:

The more broods the better, giggity

I do remember playing a baseball game in 2004 with the Brood X racket going on. Should be interesting although im suspecting it will be over-hyped as it was in 2004. I think population of cicadas are probably crashing. If I recall early summer 2004 was a bit dry as well. 

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45 minutes ago, zenmsav6810 said:

I do remember playing a baseball game in 2004 with the Brood X racket going on. Should be interesting although im suspecting it will be over-hyped as it was in 2004. I think population of cicadas are probably crashing. If I recall early summer 2004 was a bit dry as well. 

Monsanto is the population reducer

 

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Well, it really has been dry here. Only 0.76" of precip this month in Lancaster, with nothing but hot and dry in the forecast. It hasn't rained in 12 days. The dome of high pressure might allow for some 90s this weekend. Possibly maybe some storms Sunday evening as a weak trough system passes to our north? It might try to drag down a cold front and initiate some storms on the leading edge. Looking past this weekend, another drier week is likely with some slightly higher POPs as of now.

namconus_ref_frzn_neus_48.png

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I just measured my back yard soil temps with a digital meat thermometer, which, admittedly, only went a couple of inches deep. I measured between 75-80°F in the sunny spots, but only 64°F under my biggest shade tree (box elder). I'm relatively certain most of my big trees are quite a bit older than 17 years, so we will see. My other trees are mostly maples and some hemlocks.

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2 minutes ago, CoolHandMike said:

I just measured my back yard soil temps with a digital meat thermometer, which, admittedly, only went a couple of inches deep. I measured between 75-80°F in the sunny spots, but only 64°F under my biggest shade tree (box elder). I'm relatively certain most of my big trees are quite a bit older than 17 years, so we will see. My other trees are mostly maples and some hemlocks.

I'm pretty convince our soil temps are warm enough for the cicadas but damn it's dry. A solid rain event and they would be popping out of the ground...

86F / DP 49F /Hum 28%

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