Where is that cicada invasion, anyway?

The 17-year brood II apex is supposed to be upon us. And yet...

Cicada
(Image credit: Karen Kasmauski/Corbis)

If you live in the eastern United States, chances are you've already read the terrifying cicada headlines. Brood II cicadas, which emerge from the ground every 17 or so years, are set to swarm through American air, creating vast, buzzing clouds that will inevitably lead to crunchy little carcasses blanketing our lawns and driveways. By late May or June, hundreds of millions of these fearsome-looking creatures are supposed to be "boiling out of the ground," in the memorable words of the New York Times, as if "from some horror movie."

So where are they?

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Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.