This generation's brood of cicadas has emerged, beginning the final phase of its 17-year life cycle with a buzzing chorus and a surplus of discarded shells.
The cicada population native to a large portion of West Virginia, known as Brood V, has been absent from the Mountain State and the surrounding region since 1999, but are beginning their 2016 emergence to shed their exoskeletons, reproduce and reach the end of their life cycle.
Already, cicadas have been spotted in Calhoun County, as well as Kanawha County. Residents in northern Putnam, Mason, Jackson and Fayette counties should also be prepared to hear the mating call of the six-legged insect in the coming days.
"We've just had a few phone calls trickle in, mainly from the Charleston area," said West Virginia Department of Agriculture entomologist Berry Crutchfield. "I saw them at my house this weekend, a few of them, so I knew it was coming."
Crutchfield said he has yet to receive enough calls to make a judgment about the general location of the surfacing cicadas, but he expects this to be the beginning of the main wave.
Cicadas are insects that live beneath the ground for 16 1/2 years, feeding off fluids from the roots of trees. Near the end of their life cycle, cicadas tunnel to the surface when soil temperatures exceed 64 degrees Fahrenheit, generally in mid-May. Crutchfield said the warm weather and precipitation during the last few weeks have provided a perfect climate for the insects.
"We've had some warm weather early, so that's why they're starting to emerge," Crutchfield said. "There's been quite a bit of rainfall, and that softens up the ground so these things can get out of the ground easier."
The cicada's most notable feature is its repetitious mating call. Crutchfield said the call is released by the male cicada in an attempt to attract females. While many find the song of the cicadas be unnerving, Crutchfield said that it will last only four to six weeks, from roughly mid-May to late-June.
Other than the screeches they emit, cicadas are known for the crunchy exoskeletons they abandon, as well as their two bulging red eyes that flank three smaller eyes.
While cicadas are not exactly pleasing to the visual and auditory senses, they're mostly harmless to humans and the environment. According to an article by the WVU Extension Service, cicadas offer a sudden, abundant source of food for local birds, mammals and fish. Additionally, cicadas aerate the soil and provide other nutrients, such as nitrogen, to the soil when they die.
However, cicadas have the ability to damage small or newly planted trees with weak branches because the females lay hundreds of eggs in small cuts within the branches, Crutchfield said.
"What you have to worry about are small trees and newly transplanted trees," said Crutchfield. "Those can be severely damaged. It can alter the structure and even kill the tree."
To combat this, Crutchfield recommends that those with freshly planted or small trees should cover them with a layer of mesh garden netting and wrap the crown of the tree with a similar material. Crutchfield said the netting will allow sunlight and water to reach the tree while protecting the tree from cicadas.
Crutchfield also recommends those planning to protect their trees with garden netting should purchase it soon, because there is likely to be a high demand for the material. Additionally, Crutchfield doesn't believe that preventive methods such as insecticides are effective deterrents for cicadas.
"Insecticides don't help you much with cicada control," he said. "They don't damage herbaceous plants. They don't damage evergreens or resinous plants."
While Crutchfield attributes the public's distaste for cicadas to the insects' large numbers and noisiness, he said the lack of knowledge on the cicada is the root of the irrational fear.
"People just don't realize that they can't hurt you in any way," he said.
Reach Jared Casto at jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4832 or follow @JaredCasto on Twitter.