This year in Maryland, “May” will no longer be just “May,” and “June” will no longer be just “June.” The two months, according to an official proclamation from Gov. Larry Hogan, are henceforth called “Magicicada Months,” in honor of the cicada overlords soon to descend on the region.

It remains unclear whether Hogan issued Friday’s proclamation in genuine reverence of the insects — or whether it was a political move designed to appease cicada leadership ahead of the emergence of Brood X, the group of billions of periodical cicadas that are set to come out of the ground en masse any day now in the region.

Either way, the proclamation urges Marylanders to remember the bugs aren’t dangerous at all.

“Although noisy and clumsy, periodical cicadas are totally harmless to the populace and natural resources of Maryland,” reads the proclamation.

Plus, it adds, the “great popular and scientific interest in periodical cicadas remind us every 17 years of the need to protect the environment, as they are inseparably tied to the health of Maryland’s landscape and forests.” This part is true: Though the site Cicada Mania says asking about the purpose of cicadas is a “loaded question,” it points out that cicadas help to prune the weak branches of trees and also release helpful nutrients into the soil when they die.

The proclamation also alleges that cicadas are actually an example of Maryland pride — “with their beautiful yellow-orange wings, black bodies, and stunning red eyes” that match the state’s flag.

Lastly, the proclamation says, “Brood X periodical cicadas offer a harmless, short diversion from the more serious aspects of modern life.”

If you’ve never been chased by a boy in elementary school with cicadas in his hands or forced to eat one of the bugs as part of a dare, maybe save the word “harmless.” But it’s true that the diversion will spice up the region’s transition into summer. The emergence of billions of insects from the ground is, according to entomologists, a biological wonder that the eastern United States gets to experience pretty much exclusively.

Hogan is not the only regional leader to welcome our new neighbors: At a Thursday press conference, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had ordered her daughter, Miranda, books about cicadas. “I can’t wait, myself,” she said.

For residents in the region with a mean cicada chocolate chip cookie recipe, the emergence of the bugs is a moment they’ve been waiting 17 years to experience again. For others who don’t particularly enjoy being smacked in the face by bugs or forced to clean up the bugs’ smelly, rotting carcasses from their driveways, the season will present some challenges.

But whether you celebrate the arrival of Brood X by going outside and rolling around in the grass or by staying inside to avoid the insects at all costs, this reporter wishes you a happy almost-Magicicada Months — even though she has no idea how to pronounce the word Magicicada.