Two Broods of More Than a Trillion Cicadas Will Emerge in the U.S. This Year

More than a trillion cicadas will be coming to the U.S. in an event that has not happened since Thomas Jefferson was U.S. president in 1803. Two adjacent broods of the red-eyed flying cicadas will emerge from the ground in April, and residents in the Midwest and Southeast should brace themselves for a season of high-pitched buzzing.  [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Cicada broods often emerge together, the University of Connecticut says, but 2024 will mark the first time in more than 200 years that Brood XIX, which arrives every 13 years, and Brood XIII, which arrives every 17 years, will emerge at the same time.  The next co-emergence of these broods won’t happen for another 221 years.  Here’s what to know.   What are cicadas? For more than a decade, cicadas, which are in the same family as stink bugs and bed bugs, live in underground burrows until they are mature enough to rise to the surface. Weeks before they are set to emerge, the insects create tunnels to the surface, but do not come out of their homes until soil temperatures at a depth of 7-8 inches are about 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Cicadas are unique because of their lengthy lifespan. But they don’t live long once they emerge from the ground— they only have four to six more weeks to mate.  Periodical cicadas are about 1-1.5 inches long, though their wingspan is about double that length. They can be distinguished by their orange-...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized News Desk Source Type: news