In parts of the eastern, central, and southern United States, trillions of Brood X periodical cicadas are now emerging after 17 years spent underground. As the days warm up, more and more will make the journey up tree trunks to molt, find a mate, lay their eggs, then die soon after. In a number of places, people have been collecting these cicadas for food—some out of curiosity, and others to demonstrate sustainable ways of eating.
Cicada Summer Is Here
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![A new adult cicada hangs from a branch.]()
Read moreA new adult cicada hangs as its wings harden in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on May 13, 2021. #
Carolyn Kaster / AP -
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![About a dozen cicadas climb over a plant's leaves.]()
Read moreAdult cicadas and cicada nymphs cover a low plant at Woodend Sanctuary & Mansion, in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on May 17, 2021. #
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![A person kneels down to take a photo of a pile of hundreds of cicadas and empty cicada exoskeletons.]()
Read moreA student from Indiana University photographs a pile of cicadas and exoskeletons at the base of a tree on campus in Bloomington on May 21, 2021. Brood X cicadas have begun emerging from the ground after 17 years. #
Cheney Orr / Reuters -
![A close view of the face of a cicada.]()
Read moreA Magicicada periodical cicada begins to molt from its nymph state as it clings to the bark of a tree in Takoma Park, Maryland, on May 14, 2021. #
Chip Somodevilla / Getty -
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![A squirrel perches on a tree with a cicada in its mouth.]()
Read moreA squirrel holds the body of a periodical cicada in its mouth while climbing a tree on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 17, 2021. #
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![A person reaches for one of eight cookies on a plate, each topped with a single cicada.]()
Read moreThe University of Maryland entomologist Paula Shrewsbury reaches for a cookie topped with a cicada nymph in Columbia, Maryland, on May 17, 2021. #
Carolyn Kaster / AP -
![The shell of a cicada clings to a blade of grass.]()
Read moreA cicada shell is left clinging to a blade of grass after a molting on May 14, 2021, in Takoma Park, Maryland. #
Chip Somodevilla / Getty -
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![A cicada crawls out of a hole in the ground.]()
Read moreA periodical cicada nymph climbs out of its hole on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2021. #
Chip Somodevilla / Getty -
![The wings of an adult cicada are silhouetted by a distant street light.]()
Read moreThe wings of an adult cicada are silhouetted by a distant street light in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on May 13, 2021. #
Carolyn Kaster / AP -
![People gather cicadas from the ground at night.]()
Read moreJulie Biedrzycki (right) holds her son Alden as family friend Veri Tas collects periodical cicadas from the ground around Biedrzycki's home on May 17, 2021, in Lanham, Maryland. Biedrzycki's family and friends are collecting thousands of the insects to cook and serve as part of a Cicadafest party at Jim Duke's Green Farmacy Garden in Fulton, Maryland. #
Chip Somodevilla / Getty -
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![A woman holds a sieve filed with cicadas over a kitchen sink.]()
Read moreJulie Biedrzycki fills a colander with periodical cicadas before freezing them at her home on May 17, 2021, in Lanham, Maryland. #
Chip Somodevilla / Getty -
![A close shot of a cicada on a leaf.]()
Read moreA newly emerged adult cicada dries its wings while sitting on a leaf in College Park, Maryland, on May 14, 2021. #
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![A child looks up toward a molting cicada.]()
Read moreA young girl watches as a periodical cicada begins to molt from its nymph state on May 13, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia. #
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP / Getty -
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![A cicada nymph clings to the empty shell of a previously molted cicada.]()
Read moreA cicada nymph clings to the empty shell of a previously molted cicada on May 21, 2021, in Takoma Park, Maryland. #
Chip Somodevilla / Getty -
![A chef wraps fried cicadas in a green leaf.]()
Read moreFried cicadas are rolled into a sushi roll by Chef Bun Lai at Fort Totten Park in Washington, D.C., on May 23, 2021. Chef Bun is a leader in the sustainable food movement and cooks cicadas to help open the conversation to alternative ways of eating that are less destructive than traditional farming, which he sees as unsustainable. #
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP / Getty -
![A person holds a wooden skewer in both hands, with about six grilled cicadas on it, taking a bite of one.]()
Read moreMaru Losada, an entomologist at the Smithsonian Institution, eats grilled cicadas for the first time during Cicadafest at Jim Duke's Green Farmacy Garden on May 22, 2021, in Crofton, Maryland. Guests were invited to sample air-fried, grilled, and chocolate-dipped cicadas during the event, which celebrated the emergence of Brood X. #
Chip Somodevilla / Getty -
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![A cicada perches on a leaf.]()
Read moreA periodical cicada is seen in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on May 17, 2021. #
Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty
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