Can Cicadas Survive The Rain?

Cicadas are coming out of their 15-to-17-year hibernation form underground, notably in the eastern part of the US and Midwest.  Cicadas can be damaging to plants and other vegetation dear to us. Can something as simple as rains slow them down? 

If 2020 wasn’t bad enough, dig this name.  Brood X!   Where do they get these names from/ The Brood X.  How about the murder Hornet?  What if they all show up at the same time…hum.

Speaking of rain, and we had a lot of rain in the Midwest, Gene Kritsky, a biology professor at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio, said that the cicadas will try to take shelter from the rain, however, it does not kill them. 

Typically, what happens when it rains the cicadas will scramble for shelter. The bad news is the rain will not hurt them. The wings shed water like feathers on a bird. What is fascinating is the periodical cicadas will live their nymph lives underground. Within a timeframe of 13 or 17 years underground.

Afterwards, it emerges out of ground and begin a molting process that will lead them into adult phase.  Their job is getting ready for the next phase of 13 to 17 years by mating and laying eggs. Can you imagine that when you see this insect, you are looking at something that is 17 years old. 

In the United States we are expected to see Trillions of Cicadas the Brood X in the later part of May and the latter part of June. There will be a numerous states expecting this cicada explosion this year, to be exaxt..in about a dozen U.S. states between Georgia and New York.

John Cooley, a researcher in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut, told Newsweek that although rain is not fatal to cicadas, it does hamper their ability to fly.

Since cicadas are from the ground and live there for 17 years “The adults never go back in the ground, and rain makes it difficult to fly. They may try to shelter under leaves,” Cooley said.

Strong winds and storms could injure the cicadas due to their robust body as they fall to the ground.  Once on the ground and if they are injured, they can be prone to their natural predator’s such as birds and even ants. 

Like other insects, the cicada body has a waxy layer that protects it from waterlog. So, in a nutshell the water will not hurt them, but it will cause them to seek shelter under leaves and housing overlays.