Landscape - Dog Day Cicada

You often will see dead or dying cicadas at this time of the year in the landscape. This is the dog-day cicada. The following is more information.

Annual Cicadas Are Very Active in August

In August you will often hear pockets of male annual cicadas drumming on their abdomens to attract female mates. The dog day cicada was given this common name because they are active during the celestial occurrence of the dog star formation in the sky. These large, greenish cicadas are an annual event and really do not cause the extensive damage that the 17-year female cicada does to tree branches. In late August your customers will find the annual cicada on the ground dying after mating and egg laying. Control is not necessary for the dog day cicada.

Dog Day Cicada. Photo by David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org

Information from the August 21, 2009 edition of the TPM/IPM Weekly Report for Arborists, Landscape Managers & Nursery Managers from the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension