Cicadas start to invade Staten Island

Staten Island has some new, but expected guests: cicadas.

Billions of cicadas will emerge from their 17-year slumber on the East Coast in the coming weeks, and are already appearing on Staten Island, according to Ed Johnson, director of science at the Staten Island Museum.

Hundreds of cicadas turned up on Monday night, he said, in areas such as Great Kills, Anadale and Tottenville, and thousands more are on the way.

Staten Island tends to have the highest population of cicadas out of all the boroughs. “I think the emergence is probably going to be tonight,” Johnson told amNewYork. “I think you’re going to see them coming in by the thousands tonight.”

Periodical cicadas, or magicicadas, emerge mid-May every 17 years and shed their skins to assume an adult size, mate, lay eggs, and then die, usually within a month, Johnson said. Their infamous noise, which is males singing to attract females, will start up in a few days, he said.