Exodus out of US: 17-year-locusts to emerge as Passover nears

The periodical cicadas will be visible in the American north-east from between around mid-May to late-June, visible in the vicinity of shrubs or trees.

A swarm of desert locusts fly near the town of Rumuruti, Kenya, January 31, 2021. (photo credit: REUTERS/BAZ RATNER)
A swarm of desert locusts fly near the town of Rumuruti, Kenya, January 31, 2021.
(photo credit: REUTERS/BAZ RATNER)
Periodical cicada nymphs, called broods, will make their scheduled emergence from the underground this spring, just in time for the retelling of locusts' contribution to the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt, a University of Maryland report detailed.
The periodical cicadas will be visible in the American north-east from between around mid-May to late-June, visible in the vicinity of shrubs or trees, and recognizable by the distinguishable mating "song" that the male cicadas sing to the females during daylight hours.
"The reason that this is such an impressive event," UMD's professor emeritus Dr. Michaell Raupp told Fox News, is that "it happens nowhere else on the planet."
A UMD information site notes that though they are known as locusts, they are not actually locusts.
The largest brood, which will emerge this year, is called Brood X, and can number in as many as one million per acre.
The reason they are only seen once every 17 years is for survival purposes: by showing up in such massive numbers, they can guarantee the ability to overwhelm and fight off any predators or enemies.
The cicada eggs, deposited on branches, plants and in soil by the female cicadas, take about six weeks to hatch.
Cicadas are not very much affected by insecticides. Additionally, they cannot bite humans.
Passover this year falls out on March 27 and will continue until April 3.
View a detailed map of where the locusts will concentrate this year here.