Published on Wed, 06/10/2020 - 12:00am
Some folks in Rockbridge may be hearing the eerie sound of periodic cicada this week and through much of June because significant broods of the 17-year cicada are scheduled to emerge in Augusta and Alleghany counties this year. Rockbridge will have its own brood of 17-year cicada emerge in 2029. Most counties in Virginia have at least one brood of 17-year cicada that emerges consistently at 17-year intervals but the broods are staggered and some counties have multiple broods making the occurrence appear to occur in an incomprehensible pattern. Only four counties in southeastern Virginia and one Southwest Virginia county (Wise) have documented broods of the 13-year cicada. Cicada generally do not fly very far but folks closer to Alleghany or Augusta county are likely to at least see a few.