The beginning of peak cicada emergence is underway, and early on it's a story of the haves

and the have nots.

As of Wednesday, cicadas have emerged en masse in many parts of the Washington region, with the highest density of reports and numbers in a band from Fairfax through Arlington, the District and College Park. But even in those locations, it’s feast or famine regarding the cicadas, as some yards have hordes while nearby yards have none. . .

Concentrations of cicadas tend to be highest closest to the District, where temperatures are generally warmer, especially at night, and where there is less shade. In cooler, less developed parts of the Washington region outside the Capital Beltway, the emergence was spottier.

If you want to avoid the cicadas, head to the southern portion of our region, including Prince William, Charles and Calvert counties and points south. Those locations saw Brood II cicadas in 2013 but are not in the Brood X zone. We received a couple of cicada reports just to the south of Bull Run and the Occoquan River, however, just outside of the expected Brood X territory.

The Eastern Shore is another area not expecting cicadas. Ocean City, Md., is advertising itself as a cicada-free zone, with 10 miles of beaches and zero cicadas.

Let us know where you’ve seen cicadas, particularly if it’s outside of the reports we show on the map.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/05/20/cicada-distribution-map/?