This summer, Georgia and parts of the Southeast will experience an extraordinary natural event. Trillions of periodical cicadas, different from the annual cicadas familiar to many southerners, are preparing to emerge from their 13-year subterranean slumber, ABC News reports.
To up the ante, in some parts of the country there’s an intriguing twist: the dual emergence of the 13-year (Brood XIX) and 17-year cicadas (Brood XIII), marking a rare natural phenomenon not seen since 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was president. While Georgia will only see the 13-year brood emerge, entomologists predict that central Illinois will be one of the regions that will experience the double brood emergence.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for many years,” Catherine Dana, an entomologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey, told ABC News.
According to Nancy Hinkle, an entomologist at the University of Georgia, this year’s emergence of Brood XIX will not only fill the air with their distinct sounds but also paint a striking scene with their red and black colors.
“Periodical cicadas are red and black,” Hinkle told Atlanta News First. “We claim them here at the University of Georgia.”
These periodical cicadas have spent the vast majority of their lives underground, silently feeding on tree roots, waiting for the perfect moment to emerge once the soil temperature reaches a precise 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
Entomologists estimate that the dual emergence could bring trillions of cicadas above ground by late May, at the peak of their periodical breeding time of four to six weeks, according to ABC News.
“In fact, we recommend that everyone make plans to take your mother out for Mother’s Day to the north Georgia mountains to listen to the cicadas and watch the cicadas because that’s going to be the peak here in Georgia,” Hinkle said to WABE.
“This is a natural wonder of the world. Like there is no other organism, at least, that I know of in North America, that has this sheer amount of biomass,” Dana said.
While cicadas are harmless to humans — they do not bite or sting — their sheer numbers and the noise they generate can be overwhelming for those unaccustomed to such events. Entomologists like Hinkle advise maintaining calm and embracing this natural spectacle, emphasizing the absence of any threat to humans. Furthermore, while the cicadas may cause temporary damage to plants, their eventual decay enriches the soil, providing long-term benefits to the ecosystem.
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