Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Over 40 Years of Growing Gardens and Gardeners
After mating, a female cicada finds tender twigs or branches (usually the size of a pencil) in which to lay her eggs. As many cicadas flew to trees like oaks, maples, cherries, redbuds, and dogwoods to find suitable twigs, this female chose a branch on an Abelia bush about five feet off the ground.
Stop to smell the roses–but look before you do!
Not every cicada is successful . . .
If you think it is too early to find the exoskeletons of annual cicadas scattered along the sidewalk, then you are correct. What you see are the exoskeletons of periodical cicadas. Some of the Brood X 17-year cicadas have started to surface–four years early–in Virginia, Maryland, DC, Delaware, Ohio and Tennessee.
