Every spring, billions of cicadas emerge from their underground burrows. Things like this happen so often that we don’t usually mention it. But this year, two friends, both of whom have been underground for more than a decade, will emerge simultaneously, blanketing parts of the United States with trillions of bugs. They’ll create a racket, an all-purpose buzz that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Canadian border. And so are the news articles announcing their arrival. It’s said to be a historic event unlike anything we’ve experienced since 1803, but that depends on how you look at it.

So is this rare? Has it really been more than a century since groups of cicadas appeared?
Hmm, no. This happens sometimes. In the United States, 3 cicada swarms appear every 13 years and 12 cicada swarms appear every 17 years. Two people lined up in 2014, and two people lined up in the same year in 2015.

This year, Brood XIX, also known as the Great Southern Brood, will spread to more than a dozen states in the southern United States. At the same time, Brood XIII appears in several states around the Great Lakes in the northern part of the country. The last time he appeared together was in 1803, and they would not sync up again until 2245.

But they don’t come with little stamps on their feathers identifying them as one of our own. The most noticeable thing to the average person might be the loud soundtrack of a summer night, that classic drone of cicadas that emanates from a much louder chorus.

But has there been any news about cicadas lately?
Indeed, there is. For example, in 2021, the Great Eastern Brood emerged with a bang after 17 years underground, hitting densely populated areas such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. This hype was enough to draw insect-seeking tourists and spur culinary creations such as: semi-scampi. (Note to foodies: Cicadas are a member of the crustacean family, and people with shellfish allergies should avoid eating cicadas.) US Food and Drug Administration. )

So why is cicada emergence in 2024 attracting so much attention? Will more cicadas arrive than ever before?
The issue is not so much the number of cicadas as the extent to which these red-eyed insects invade. “Double brood emergence is not unprecedented, but this one is notable for its wide geographic range,” he said. Jonathan Larson at the University of Kentucky. “That would be a great force of nature.”

This is especially true as Brood means that the person may witness this phenomenon.

Is there any reason to worry about cicadas?
Cicadas do not bite or sting, so while they may be a temporary nuisance to some people, they are not dangerous. “That’s all there is to it. [broods] It’s something you can experience in a lifetime.” jessica ware At the American Museum of Natural History in New York. “So instead of getting annoyed by the sound, just enjoy the sound.”

Why do periodic cicadas live this way?
Cicadas burrow underground as nymphs, feeding on the sap from tree roots for years at a time. When the soil warms up in May-June, they crawl out of their underground burrows and immediately look for vertical surfaces (trees, houses, cars) to scale. “You’ll wake up one morning and all of a sudden there’ll be cicadas everywhere,” he says. chris simon at the University of Connecticut.

After a week, they shed their exoskeleton and reach their final adult form. The male then woos the female by vibrating the membranes of her body and producing a cacophonous song. After mating, the female lays eggs and all adults die. Within a month, the cicadas will be gone. This waiting game is all part of the periodic cicada’s dramatic survival tactics. Birds and other predators quickly fill the buggy buffet as thousands of insects flood the area, leaving only a few cicadas behind. The pattern of 13 years and his 17 years is so unpredictable that it is difficult for predators and diseases to keep up.

It is not clear exactly how cicadas time their primes, but most scientists agree that the insects measure the passage of time through environmental signals from the trees they feed on. I agree.

Will something like this happen again soon?
The next double spring won’t occur until 2037, so cicada researchers want to sample and study as many insects as possible. They are also interested in seeing how many cicadas actually emerge, since it has been many years since both cicadas appeared on the ground. Because the insect burrowed underground more than a decade ago, nutrients in the soil around the insect may have changed due to fertilizer use, plants growing in the area, or even climate change. It is also possible that something was built on top of the cicada’s bed. That’s the bet these insects are making.

After 2037, the next double chick will appear in 2041, followed by double chicks in 2050, 2053, and 2054. As the name suggests, it continues like this on a regular basis for as long as cicadas exist.