Most of the “accelerated” cicadas coming out around our house leave the usual empty dried skins behind when they molt. But sometimes I see adult bodies with the back end missing, like they backed out. Why are they different?

These are cicada “zombies.” Cicadas, like all living organisms, have their problems. Adult cicadas missing their abdomens are victims of a fungal disease that targets cicadas. The spores of this disease (Massospora cicadina) hang around underground for years with the cicadas. A cicada’s emergence triggers the spores to penetrate its body and multiply. As newly molted cicadas mate, the spores are spread, making this a cicada STD. An infected abdomen becomes a fuzzy buff-colored garden of fungus, and the abdomen falls off. But this doesn’t faze the cicada who, like a zombie, creepily continues to walk and fly.

I understand I’m not supposed to mix too much organic stuff into a tree’s planting hole, making the soil like a sponge or a bathtub when it rains and drowning the plant. But my soil has a lot of clay. Is there something I can do to improve the soil to give the tree a good head start?

The tree will have to cope with the native soil eventually. However, here are three things you can do: 1) Reverse the excavated soil when you backfill. Put the top layer of soil in the bottom of the hole. This soil naturally has the most organic nutrients built up over the years. 2) You can safely mix in a small portion of organic amendments. Just don’t go overboard. Keep in mind that a soil with 5% organic material is considered very good. 3) You can use a water soluble fertilizer in the first watering. For more tree planting tips, search ‘tree planting’ on the HGIC website.

University of Maryland Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at extension.umd.edu/hgic. Click “Ask Maryland’s Gardening Experts” to send questions and photos.