Here Come the Cicadas

New Jersey's invasion of cicadas has started in the wake of two days of warm weather.

The insects have started to emerge from the soil in droves for the first time in 17 years and that could make for a noisy and buggy Memorial Day holiday weekend cookout.

They've been spotted in Tenafly, Wayne, Colonia, Fanwood, Mendham and Montclair.

Rutgers University entomologist George Hamilton tells The Record newspaper people with sunny, shade-free yards will likely get the first wave since cicadas leave their holes only after the soil temperature hits 64 degrees.

Cicadas come above ground once after 17 years to shed their skin and mate before dying. Some people also like to eat the noisy insects calling the cicada “the shrimp of the land.”

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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