US researchers seek citizen scientists as billions of Brood X cicadas set to emerge

Last Brood X event for 15 states including New York, Ohio, Illinois and Georgia occurred in 2004 while insects to surface in mid-May

As New Yorkers nervously await the emergence of billions of cicada bugs set to swarm through their city and the north-east of the US, researchers are seeking to enlist citizen scientists to track the coming plague.

The so-called Brood X of cicadas are set to emerge after 17 years underground. This particular cohort of the periodic insects will swarm in several large areas in the eastern US, as they prepare for one enormous mate fest, including New York's Central Park and parts of the Bronx and Staten Island.