Brood XI cicadas had historically been reported from scattered areas of the north-eastern United States, with records found going back into the 18th century, such as at Sandwich, Massachusetts.
Entomologist George Dimmock recorded the species in great numbers in Suffield, Connecticut, in 1869 and collected a specimen, but failed to find them in the same location when searching seventeen years later.
[4] It was reported by Prof. A. S. Packard from three localities in Rhode Island in 1903, including at a site in the town of Coventry near the southwest end of the Tiogue Reservoir where they covered the scrub oak for an eighth of a mile,[5] but a search in 1920 drew a blank.
[6] A visit later in the summer found no evidence of egg laying or consequent wilting of twigs, unlike in 1937, leading to the conclusion that the cicadas were approaching extinction.
While still commonly believed to be extinct, David Marshall of the University of Connecticut has stated that he "would not be surprised if there are small patches of [Brood XI] that have been missed since much of southern New England is not that densely inhabited".