Skip to main content

MEDIA KIT: The buzz around Brood X: Don’t fear the cicada, WVU scientists say

Brood IX periodical cicada
Brood IX periodical cicada (Magicicada septendecim) resting on leaf at Yew Mountain Lodge in Pocahontas County, West Virginia in June 2020. Photo credit Angie Macias.
Download full-size

They’re coming but there’s no need to fear (although you may want to reach for some earplugs).

Brood X periodical cicadas are set to emerge in at least 15 states – including West Virginia - in late May, according to West Virginia University scientists with the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.

Expert Pitch from WVUToday:

April 5 Expert Pitch

Top Ten things to know about Brood X periodical cicadas


Videos:

Return of the zombie cicadas: WVU team unearths manipulative qualities of fungal-infected flyers

Researchers with the Kasson Lab at the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design collect cicadas in southeastern West Virginia in 2020. They discovered that cicadas infected with Massospora unknowingly engage in trickery with their fellow insects, resulting in disease transmission.


Cicada

Biographies:

Matt Kasson Biography
Brian Lovett Biography


WVU articles on cicadas:

‘Flying salt shakers of death’: The lives of fungal-infected zombie cicadas, explained by WVU researchers

Return of the zombie cicadas: WVU team unearths manipulative qualities of fungal-infected flyers

Zombie cicadas (WVU Magazine)


WVU in the news:

New York Times: Billions (Yes, Billions) of Cicadas Soon to Emerge From Underground

NBC News: Get ready for Brood X: The once-every-17-years cicada swarm is coming

Live Science: Prime numbers protect Brood X cicadas from everything but zombie fungus

New York Times: Drugged, Castrated, Eager to Mate: The Lives of Fungi-Infected Cicadas

Brood IX periodical cicada emergence holesBrood IX periodical cicada emergence holes at Yew Mountain Lodge in Pocahontas County, West Virginia in June 2020. Photo credit Angie Macias. Download full-size

Brood IX periodical cicada exuviaeBrood IX periodical cicada exuviae (sometimes referred to as shells) at Yew Mountain Lodge in Pocahontas County, West Virginia in June 2020. Dr. Brian Lovett examines cicadas in background. Photo credit Angie Macias. Download full-size

Freshly molted adult Brood V periodical cicadaFreshly molted adult Brood V periodical cicada resting on tree stem on the campus of West Virginia University in June 2016. Photo credit Matt Kasson. Download full-size

Adult Brood V periodical cicadas resting among exuviae on ash treeHigh densities of adult Brood V periodical cicadas resting among exuviae on ash tree on the campus of West Virginia University in June 2016. Photo credit Matt Kasson. Download full-size

Matt Kasson takes selfie with Brood IX periodical cicadaMatt Kasson takes selfie with Brood IX periodical cicada in Green Hill Park in Salem, Virginia in June 2020. Photo credit Matt Kasson. Download full-size

Close up of the sucking mouth parts of Magicicada septendecimClose up of the sucking mouth parts of Magicicada septendecim, one of the three species of periodical cicadas set to emerge as part of Brood X. Photo of Brood IX periodical cicada in Green Hill Park in Salem, Virginia in June 2020. Photo credit Matt Kasson. Download full-size