By Susan and Biff Andrews

Ah, May! One of the two best months in Tidewater, the other being October.

But there are drawbacks. One is the wildlife active at the time, specifically carpenter bees, also known as wood bees. And then this year we get an added bonus — cicadas.

If you live in a house built of wood, especially conifer wood such as pine, fir, cedar or cypress, these pests are a common threat. They love to bore into wood to lay their eggs, and the babies usually return to where they were born when adults.

Wood bees are the most common type in existence … 500 species worth. They look like a naked bumblebee — no fluff — but they don’t live in holes in the ground, they live in the siding of your house.

In late spring — May, usually — they become highly active, especially on the sunny side of your house. They bore perfectly circular holes up to 16 mm in diameter in the wood, and the female enters to lay her eggs by the end of June.

It is a good thing the females stay in the boards, as they can bite. The males, which can be told from the females by a white head or white spot on the head, cannot sting. But they are extremely aggressive, often frightening small children with their up close and personal hovering.

They don’t eat the wood they bore into; they just create a cozy home for their young.

But there’s good news. Woodpeckers love them. And they can be caught in traps.

There are two types of traps. One is a brightly colored sticky trap — commercially available for about $8. They attract and capture wasps as well as wood bees.

The other is an easily constructed wooden box that has a hole in each side and a jar or plastic soda bottle to collect the corpus delicti. Plans for the size and construction are readily available on the internet by searching “wood bees.”

All you have to do is empty the bodies occasionally. They are also available on the internet for about $20 if you’re not handy with tools.

Speaking of May pests, this year is Brood V’s year to emerge from the ground — calling all 17-year locusts, all 17-year locusts! Some cicadas are annual breeders, and some are on a 13-year cycle, but the 17-year group is the most prolific, and this is their year, at least in Virginia.

When the ground temperature warms to about 65 degrees, billions and billions of cicadas will exit their 17-year underground dormitories and swarm. The males will rub those back legs together in that shrill sound that can be heard for miles, hoping to attract a mate. By the millions and billions.

It’s gonna get loud, folks!

Each female can lay hundreds of eggs across dozens of sites, depositing them in twigs until they hatch six weeks later. The nymphs will drop to the ground, burrow down to some juicy roots about a foot underground, and stay there for 17 years.

They don’t bite. They don’t sting. They just eat a lot of green leaves and make a lot of noise and leave carcasses behind.

And they’ll be back — predictably and on schedule. Sounds like our politicians and our political cycle. M’aidez! Mayday!

Susan and Bradford “Biff” Andrews are retired teachers and master naturalists who have been outdoor people all their lives, exploring and enjoying the woods, swamps, rivers and beaches throughout the region for many years. Email them at b.andrews22@live.com.