Cicadapocalypse to hit the Hamptons and East Coast - Updated

I've updated this post for a couple of reasons. There are disputes as to whether the noted cicadas will actually hit Long Island and whether they will harm trees and shrubs if they do. Links are offered regarding both questions:

Just when you thought the world was safe from apocalyptic episodes, there is news of the Cicadapocalypse coming this spring. Last year I showed a cicada to my kids in our yard in Southampton, but this year experts predict that there will likely be a lot more than just one or two livening up our neighborhoods. And it’s not just going to be in the Hamptons, but at various locations along the East Coast according to this map.
 
Entomologists explain that cicada reproductive cycles modulate through a 17-year cycle of peak and off-peak reproduction numbers. This year the Magicicada periodical cicadas are due for a hyper litter. As far as I can tell, these ones have little beady orange eyes, as opposed to the little beady black eyes of other cicadas.
 
The Cicada Mania website offers various tips and options on how to protect your plants and ornamental trees:
 
1. Spray them off with a garden hose.
 
2. Foil around the trunk (to keep them from crawling up) (thanks Deborah).
 
3. Insect barrier tape.
 
4. Place netting over your precious ornamental trees: Try a landscaping supply place – where you bought the baby trees in the first place.
 
5. Bagpipes (no joke, it worked at my friend’s wedding).
 
6. Don’t use pesticide – we like all insects (especially pollinating bees).
 
For what it’s worth, a thread in a popular debunking site, The Straight Dope clarified that cidada Magicicada do eat (or drink, rather) trees and shrubs:
 
“Contrary to popular belief, adults do feed by sucking plant fluids; adult cicadas will die within days if not provided with living woody vegetation on which to feed. Magicicada feed from a wide variety of deciduous plants and shrubs, but usually not from grasses.”
 
“Periodical cicadas can cause physical damage to small trees or shrubs if too many feed from the plant or lay eggs in the twigs; such damage can cause “flagging”, or breaking of peripheral twigs. Orchard and nursery owners probably should not plant young trees or shrubs in the years preceding an emergence of periodical cicadas, because young trees may be harmed by severe flagging.”

The original source link for these quotes is National Geographic, where it is further clarified that these cicadas have “piercing-and-sucking mouthparts” that damage trees and shrubs by extracting fluids.
 
However, despite these long-winded explanations, a later report in from entomologist Daniel Gilrein offers a view that the cicadas will not be swarming around Long Island this time: “I am not expecting to see very many — if any — on Long Island this time,” - Oh, darn.
 
In any event, this 17-year cycle in nature is still an interesting phenomenon reminiscent of the circadian rhythm. The ‘cicadian rhythm’ could actually be seen as a part of the circadian rhythm. And so this episode can be seen as another reminder of how precisely tuned the universe is for life on Earth. Try to Keep these pleasant thoughts in mind if and when the hoards of crispy critters are flying around you wherever you may be on the East Coast.
 
Posted by Richard Warden
 
 (updated 04/26/13)

Original post at Warren's Nursery