"Cicadas overwhelm tree branches across Maryland once every 17 years, like clockwork. But something — some suspect climate change — could be sounding their alarm clocks four years early.

In recent days, the red-eyed, nugget-shaped insects have been spotted crawling out from beneath trees from Northern Virginia to Bel Air in large — though not overwhelming — numbers.

The phenomenon is confusing entomologists who weren't expecting to see many of the screeching insects in the region until 2021."

Scott Dance reports for the Baltimore Sun May 16, 2017. [2]