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Article: Invasion of the Brood; Entomology.(A plague of cicadas is about to surface)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 8, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The 17-year cicadas are about to emerge in force
LIKE the climax of a bad sci-fi movie, a plague of biblical proportions will soon hit the eastern part of the United States. Not overgrown rabbits, nor killer tomatoes, but numberless insects. For sometime after May 10th (the exact date depends on the weather over the next few days), Brood X of the 17-year cicada will surface. The outbreak will be densest in the mid-west, around Indiana, where 3.5m insects per hectare are expected to emerge. But lesser plagues will hit places as far apart as Maryland and Missouri.
This insect storm will delight children, irritate adults (who have to clear up the mess), and ...