Forest
Stewardship News Release
April
30, 2004 - For Release between May 1 and May 21
Contact: Rance
Harmon, Phone: 814-863-0401 E-mail: rsh144@psu.edu
Cicada Outbreak May Benefit Pennsylvania Birds
The cicada feast begins in late May with the emergence of the 17-year periodical cicadas of Brood X, from the Mid-Atlantic, South, and Midwest United States, (including 40 counties in Pennsylvania). According to Steve Hoffman, director of bird conservation for the Pennsylvania Audubon Society, the glut of cicadas will provide a great opportunity for bird watching this summer, and will have a short-term effect on the bird population.
Periodical cicada populations, called broods, are identified by Roman numerals. Brood X, or the “great eastern brood,” is the largest cicada brood. Commonly but mistakenly called locusts, periodical cicadas are native to North America and exist nowhere else in the world. There are seven species of periodical cicadas, three with a 17-year cycle and four with a 13-year cycle. Hoffman says, “Periodical cicadas emerge in cycles so that they can overwhelm the predators. Only a small portion of cicadas will get eaten. If they spread it out over every summer, the predator population would increase. It has to be a fairly rare event.”
In late May, birds will start to breed or will already have young. “With the cicadas and the heavy rainfall, food abundance will be really high this year. Birds can spend less time foraging, and more time protecting their young. The young will leave the nest fat and sassy.” An increase of healthy young will mean an increase in the bird population. However, according to Hoffman, the increase will be temporary. Without the amount of quality habitat that birds need, the population will level out the following year.
Outdoor recreationists might take advantage of this summer’s opportunity to observe birds engaged in a feeding frenzy. Hoffman says, “Some birds catch aerial flying insects. Other birds eat by gleaning the underside of leaves and bark. And some birds just feed on the ground.” Cicadas will be present in all of these places: up in the tree’s canopy, flying clumsily through the air, or on the ground after falling.
Birds are not alone in their taste for cicadas. Sam Droege, Wildlife Biologist from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) describes what may be the cicada’s most unlikely predator--a giant wasp. “The largest wasp in the East is the cicada killer that specializes in provisioning its nest with paralyzed cicadas.” After stinging its prey, the wasp drags the cicada up into a tree, where it will then launch off, flying back to its nest with fresh food for its wasp larva. Not to worry, no matter how many different animals or insects eat them, they are not likely to have a serious impact on the cicada population. As the oldest living insects in North America, cicadas have a well-practiced plan for survival.
The Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program provides publications on a variety of topics related to woodland management for private landowners. For a list of free publications, call 1-800-235-WISE (toll-free), send e-mail to RNRext@psu.edu, or write to: Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 320 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in partnership with the Penn State's Forest Resources Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program in Pennsylvania.
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