Cicada Invasion 2024 w/ Lenny Lampel

This meeting will be held at Reedy Creek Nature Center in their classroom, as well as online via Zoom (REGISTER TODAY).

The spring of 2024 will be a big one for our periodical cicadas.  Two different broods of these cicadas will be emerging, and we can expect there to be millions of cicadas through parts of the eastern and central United States. Included in this incredible event is Brood XIX, known as the Great Southern Brood. They will be making an appearance in the piedmont of North Carolina, including parts of the Charlotte region.  Learn all about these fascinating insects, including their amazing lifecycles, important ecological roles, and their impacts on the environment.  You’ll also learn about Mecklenburg County’s efforts to better understand how landscape changes and impacts have affected these populations.  Discover what we can expect to see and hear this spring as we get closer to this unique natural event.    

Lenny is a Natural Resources Supervisor with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation’s Division of Nature Preserves and Natural Resources.  He is responsible for conducting biological assessments and inventories, monitoring populations of federal and state listed rare plant species, coordinating various fauna and flora studies and projects, and managing the biological collections housed within the Dr. James F. Matthews Center for Biodiversity Studies.  Lenny holds an MS in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Conservation Biology from Antioch University New England and a BA in Biology from SUNY College at Old Westbury.  Lenny lives in Concord, NC with his wife, three children, and their big, furry dog and cat