BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — They've been underground for 17 years, but now they are here in Columbia County. These are what's called the Brood X Cicadas.
Joe Lapchak lives in Beaver Township, which is about 15 minutes outside of Bloomsburg. His first cicada sighting of the year was on May 2.
"I started seeing the nymphs coming out of the ground, and I knew it wasn't going to be too long. Probably last weekend is when I saw them starting to molt and come out of their shells, and now, they're starting to mature," Lapchak said.
Lapchak recently commented on a Newswatch 16 Facebook post about cicadas. He invited us to come to take video, and we were not disappointed.
The cicadas are mostly in trees, but some are in the bushes and on the ground. You can even see holes in the ground from where they came up.
"There seems to be quite a few of them, and they're just flying around," Lapchak said.
The cicadas are also pretty noisy.
"I guess it's their mating call, the noise. It can be pretty loud, but I don't mind them. You think they're pretty cool. I'm fascinated by them," Lapchak said.
If bugs aren't your thing, don't worry. Scientists say cicadas tend to stick to the wooded areas and avoid cities.
Lapchak says despite all the cicadas on his property, some of his neighbors have not seen any. According to scientists, cicadas lay eggs in trees and will die off in a few weeks.