Researchers are sending out a call to the public in Arkansas and Louisiana - if you see cicadas this spring, they want to know about it. Unlike the annual cicadas we see and hear every summer, the 13-year cicada periodical group known as Brood XIX (19), will soon emerge this year.
But scientists are not sure if this brood is still active in north Louisiana. If so, they would most likely be seen in Caddo, Claiborne, and Webster Parishes. LSU AgCenter Entomology Department Professor Emeritus Christopher Carlton, says historically brood XIX has been active in parts of North Louisiana, but has not been seen in recent years.
Carlson urges the public to “keep an eye out from late April to early June and if you see or hear black cicadas with red eyes and orange stripes on their wings take a picture, preferably top and bottom.”
Professor Carlton says you can post your photos and record you observations on web sites like inaturalist.org and BugGuide.net.
Carlton’s Photo gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/12666884@N00/albums.
