In a rare event, 1 trillion cicadas, made up of two different cicadas, are expected to begin appearing in the Midwest and Southeastern United States at the end of April.
This is the first time since 1803 that Brood XIX (Great Southern Brood) and Brood XIII (Northern Illinois Brood) will appear together in an event known as Dual Emergence.
Thomas Jefferson was the last president whose 17-year cycle of the Northern Illinois Brood coincided with the 13-year cycle of the Great Southern Brood. After this spring, it would be another 221 years before the geographically contiguous groups appeared together again.
Approximately 16 states are the epicenter of these periodic cicadas, which differ from the cicadas that appear in small numbers each year.
Forest areas, including urban green spaces, are more likely to have more cicadas than agricultural areas. Floyd W. Shockley, an entomologist and collections manager at the Smithsonian Institution, estimates that the potential for these insects to occur is 1 trillion cicadas, each slightly more than an inch long, end to end. If lined up side by side, they would have traveled 15,782,828 miles. National Museum of Natural History.
“That cicada train will reach the moon and come back 33 times,” Dr. Shockley said.
When will cicadas come out?
The first cicadas are expected to emerge in late April. Gene Kritsky, a former biology professor at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati and author of several books about cicadas, including “A Tale of Two Cicadas,'' says temperature determines when cicadas emerge. says.
The soil first needs to reach 64 degrees Fahrenheit and about 6 inches deep, Kritsky said, “and then we get a lot of rain and that's when it really pops.”
They use their front legs to dig tunnels out of the ground, searching for a place where they can finish maturing peacefully with their beady red eyes. A few days after emerging and molting, the male begins buzzing in search of a mate, gradually increasing in noise until the chorus can be louder than an airplane.
where are they?
Kritsky said the first wave of cicadas will appear in northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, northern Georgia and as far as western South Carolina.
It then appears in central North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Arkansas, followed by southern Missouri, southern Illinois, and western Kentucky.. Finally, he said cicadas will appear throughout central and northern Missouri and Illinois, northwestern Indiana, southern Wisconsin and eastern Iowa.
How long will duplication last?
The Midwest and Southeast should be busy for about six weeks.
In most cases, cicadas live for about a month and die not far from where they emerged, Dr. Shockley said.
Are cicadas dangerous?
Cicadas do not bite or sting people, and they do not transmit disease. But cicadas are “not good at flying and even worse at landing,” so they often end up on sidewalks and city streets, where they can be crushed by people or cars, “where things can become slick.”
“In urban areas, there will be enough bodies to require removal,” Dr. Shockley said. “But people should think of it as essentially free fertilizer for plants in gardens and natural areas, rather than throwing it in the trash or cleaning it up with street sweepers.”
If you have a dog that likes to eat insects, Professor Kritsky says it's not a good idea to let them devour them, as this can cause intestinal blockage.
How can I get rid of cicadas?
Simply put, it's not. If you have delicate plants that you want to protect, use special nets made for that purpose.
Insects act as natural gardeners and are beneficial to the environment. The holes left behind as they emerge from the ground help aerate the soil and allow rainwater to get underground to nourish the tree's roots during the hot summer months. When you cut into a tree, some branches break off, and the leaves then turn brown in a process known as “flagging,” a type of natural pruning. As the branches regrow, the fruit tends to become larger. When a cicada dies, its rotting body provides the tree with the nutrients it needs.
John R. Cooley, a biology professor at the University of Connecticut, said the best advice for people living in dual-appearance areas is to leave the bugs alone.
“The forest is where they live,” he said. “They are part of the forest. Don't try to kill them. Don't spray them with pesticides. There are more of them than pesticides can kill, so you're going to have a bad ending. You'll end up killing them all.”