Do not be surprised to start seeing evidence of the periodic cicada invasion. Females damage small branches by their egg-laying activities. They use their ovipositor to cut slits through the bark and lay eggs. Heavy egg-laying can damage the branches enough to cause them to die back. The branch “flagging” can be alarming, but the trees will recover.
Eggs hatch in five to six weeks, and the nymphs drop to the ground to start their 13 years of feeding underground before we see them again in 2037.
Egg-laying damage that causes flagging. Paul Thompson, ©2024, Clemson Extension
