Homeowners may be seeing some lingering effects of last year’s 17-year cicada emergence in smaller branches of trees, but it’s nothing to worry about.

“The trees will be fine in the long run, even if you see some small dead branches now,” said Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist at the Plant Clinic of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. “Just prune any dead wood from small trees or shrubs if you find it unsightly.”

Toward the end of last year’s emergence, female cicadas laid their eggs in small slits in slender young twigs and branches. When the eggs hatched, the nymphs fell to the ground and burrowed into the soil, where they will spend the next 17 years. They left behind slits in the wood. To learn more about periodical cicadas and their life cycle, see mortonarb.org/cicadas .

Alth

See Full Page