A primer on periodical cicadas and why they benefit wild turkey poults.
Nearly 17 years ago, in 2008, cicada brood XIV went underground. It was around the same time as the Beijing Olympics, global financial crisis, and the beginning of a certain president’s first term in office. Of course, no one thought about the eventual emergence of these red-eyed, dark-bodied screamers, but here we are, incredibly grateful for their deafening roar. Soon, they’ll serve as an abundance of wild turkey food source and predation deterrence.
Some might wonder, what were these zombie bugs doing in the ground for nearly two decades? According to the University of Kentucky, the cicada nymphs lived in the soil, fed on the sap of tree roots, and counted their feeding cycles. Then, they just knew when it was time to emerge, molt, and reproduce.
Incredibly, Kentucky is now at the center of this reemergence. It’s especially heavy in central, eastern, and southern Kentucky. Of course, it’s expected to emerge in up to parts of 13 other states, too. Others expected to experience a hatch include areas as far south as Georgia and South Carolina and as far North as New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts. That said, because of its prevalence in Kentucky, it’s been dubbed the “Bourbon Brood.”
Not to be confused with annual cicadas, periodical hatches — which are on 13- or 17-year cycles — tend to emerge earlier in the year. (In contrast, the annual cicada hatches occur later in the year.) Periodicals begin emerging when the soil temperature increases to the mid-60s. Therefore, Brood 14 (again, a 17-year hatch) began emerging in late April, and by late May, is out in force. Now, the woods of Kentucky and other states sound much different with these big bugs in the treetops.
To differentiate, the UK Extension Service notes that periodical cicadas have red eyes, orange wing veins, black bodies, orange legs, measure 1 to 1 ½ inches, and are active April to June. Annual cicadas have black or green eyes, green wing veins, green to black body coloring, same coloring of the legs, measure 2 to 2 ½ inches, and are active July to September.
According to Jonathan Larson, the assistant extension entomology professor with the UK Department of Entomology, only the male cicadas can “sing.” These bugs are two-hit wonders, though. First, they sing a song to encourage other males to congregate in the trees. Then, once males are in masse, they sing a second tune to attract females. Then, Mother Nature does its magic to produce the next generation of these red-eyed insects.
Of course, cicadas don’t bite or harm. They also don’t pose quite the plant damage threat that swarming locusts and other insects do. Neither are they poisonous to pets or other animals.
In fact, from a wild turkey management standpoint, these obnoxiously loud insects are a Godsend. Without question, large cicada hatches serve as an excellent food source for wild turkeys, among other wildlife species.
Incredibly, enough research has been conducted to determine that large cicada hatches directly correlate to exceptional poult rearing success. This cicada emergence coincides with the turkey poult hatch, effectively creating a boon of food sources for these young turkeys and their mothers.
According to TFT Founder Ron Jolly, cicada hatches are relevant to wild turkeys for multiple reasons. First, these large emergences divert the attention of predators off turkey poults and onto these large congregations of insects. Secondly, these also offer turkeys and turkey poults with excellent food sources of their own, and they are less vulnerable to predators while searching for food.
All combined, it results in a much higher poult recruitment rate. Next spring, that should equate to a large crop of jakes. In two years, it should produce a heavy population of hard-gobbling, 2-year-old toms.
“If the past is any indication, then turkeys in the eastern two-thirds of Kentucky should benefit from this year’s emergence of periodical cicadas,” said Zak Danks, the turkey and grouse program coordinator with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “When these Brood XIV cicadas last emerged in 2008, the poults-per-hen metric jumped way up, and two springs later in 2010, we harvested a record number of turkeys. In 2021, several Kentucky counties experienced Brood X cicadas, which combined with favorable weather to produce our second-highest-ever spring harvest in 2023 (within 500 birds of the 2010 total, despite concerns about declining turkey numbers). Last summer in 2024, Brood XIX cicadas emerged in a handful of Kentucky counties, one of which was Muhlenberg where we have research going on. Preliminary results showed that compared to 2023’s baseline non-cicada year, in 2024, a higher proportion of our GPS-tagged hens attempted a nest, were more successful at hatching poults, and more poults survived their first month of life.
“Notably, re-nesting success was much improved too, which gives me some solace as I sit here watching a cool rain fall, worrying about newly hatched, down-covered poults and nesting hens having to endure such unfavorable conditions,” Danks continued. “My hope is that the plethora of cicadas will provide alternative prey for predators so that second-nest attempts will be more successful than they might otherwise be in a non-cicada year.”
So, much to the chagrin of most humans, the next few weeks will be greeted with the sweet sound of cicada love. Each new sunrise will offer the deafening roar of these red-eyed devils seducing their female counterparts. But to the turkey hunter, we hear that song, and we smile, because for the wild turkey, it’s one big win.
Photos by Honeycutt Creative