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“Cicada-geddon” is here. It's the biggest emergence of cicadas in more than 200 years

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A close up view of a cicada on a person fingers

Trillions of cicadas are about to emerge in numbers not seen in decades and possibly centuries! Shown
above is a periodical cicada nymph found while digging holes for rosebushes in Macon, Georgia on
March 27, 2024. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP

By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff

WORDS693

PUBLISHED4/28/2024

Periodical cicadas are black bugs with bulging red eyes. Right now, there are trillions of them hiding in
the ground. They’re about to emerge in numbers not seen in decades and possibly centuries.

An up close view of a small hole in the dirt

Cicadas will dig tunnels to the surface before emerging. A cicada hole is seen in the soil after a heavy
rain on the campus of Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia on March 27, 2024. Photo: Carolyn
Kaster/AP

Periodical cicadas are different from their greener-tinged cousins that emerge every year.
Every 13 or 17 years, periodical cicadas crawl out of the ground. Together, they begin singing a song,
one that is as loud as jet engines.

When periodical cicadas crawl out from underground, they take over the entire the entire landscape.
They shed their hard outer skeletons everywhere, making the ground crunchy.

This spring, there will be twice as many cicadas as usual in a couple of parts of the United States. Cicada
expert John Cooley is calling it “cicada-geddon.”

Background On Broods

Periodical cicadas are found only in the eastern United States and a few other places. They are more
annoying than harmful, hurting young trees and some fruit crops, though a lot of the damage can be
prevented.

A map with orange and blue boundaries across multiple states

Brood XIII and Brood XIX are spread across multiple states in the Midwest and Southern regions of the
U.S. Map: Newsela staff. Map data from ArcGis Online

Periodical cicadas that emerge in a particular year are known collectively as a single “brood.” The
cicadas in one brood share the same life cycle, which is the term for the changes that happen to a living
thing throughout its life.

There are 15 different broods that emerge every few years, on 17- and 13-year cycles.

Broods emerge when the ground warms to 64 degrees (17.8 degrees Celsius). This is happening earlier
in the year than it used to because of climate change, according to scientists. Climate change is the
significant change in the climate of Earth over a long period of time. It can happen naturally, but today,
climate change is largely caused by human activities.
The largest brood in the nation — called Brood XIX, or 19 — comes out every 13 years. It is about to
march through the Southeast, having already created countless holes in the red Georgia clay.

Soon after Brood XIX appears, their cicada cousins — Brood XIII, or 13 — will awaken all over Illinois.
This brood comes out every 17 years.

“When you put those two together… you would have more than anywhere else any other time,” said
Paula Shrewsbury, an entomologist. This is a scientist who studies insects.

An up close view of a cicada crawling out of the ground

A periodical cicada nymph was found crawling out of the ground while digging holes for rosebushes in
Macon, Georgia, on March 28, 2024. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP

These two broods may actually overlap in a small area near central Illinois. The last time these two
broods came out together was in 1803.

How Many Cicadas Will We See?

The periodical cicada numbers that will come out this year — averaging around 1 million per acre over
hundreds of millions of acres across 16 states — are mind-boggling. Cooley said that hundreds of
trillions, maybe quadrillions, of cicadas could emerge in the U.S. this year.

Cooley said an even bigger emergence will happen in 2076. That’s when the two largest broods, XIX and
XIV, will come out together. “That is the cicada-palooza,” he said.

Cicadas periodically come out in gigantic numbers because of evolution, the process by which living
things undergo changes over time. Periodical cicadas tend to be fat, slow and tasty, which makes them
ideal meals for birds. But there are too many of these cicadas to be eaten to extinction, which is the
permanent loss of a species.

The other way cicadas use numbers to their advantage is in their cycles. They stay underground for
either 13 or 17 years. Those big and odd numbers are likely an evolutionary trick to keep creatures like
birds from relying on a predictable emergence.
What Happens When Cicadas Emerge?

Cicada expert Gene Kritsky says periodic cicadas look for vegetation surrounding mature tree. That’s
where they can lay eggs and then go underground to feast on the roots.

It can be hard on the eardrums when all those cicadas get together in those trees and start chorusing.

“The whole tree is screaming,” said Kritsky, who created a Cicada Safari app to track where the cicadas
are.

A man digging holes with a shovel in his yard with tress and a house in the background

While T.J. Rauls plants rosebushes in his yard in Macon, Georgia, on March 27, 2024, he unearthed a
periodical cicada nymph. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP

In Georgia, T.J. Rauls was planting roses and holly in early April when he came across a cicada while
digging. A neighbor had already posted an image of an early-emerging critter.

Rauls named his own bug “Bobby” and said he’s looking forward to more to come.

“I think it will be an exciting thing,” Rauls said. “It will be bewildering with all their noises.”