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Animals We Protect

What You Need to Know about Periodical Cicadas

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A cicada (a black insect with transparent wings and large red eyes) sits on a green leaf.

What you need to know about this noisy, natural wonder.

A Periodic Cycle The emergence of periodical cicadas is one of nature’s great annual events, and it’s a boon to many other species of animals that feast on the slow-moving insects. © David Gumbart/TNC

Candid headshot of Deborah Landau taken during a controlled burn.
Deborah Landau Director of Ecological Management

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All about Cicadas

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An inescapable screeching sound coming from nearly every nearby tree and local forest. Winged insects clinging to unsuspecting people—or colliding with them, as the big bugs haphazardly fly around.

If these scenarios trigger a memory, you may live in a region of the United States that is home to periodical cicadas. The sudden appearance of millions of screaming, red-eyed insects is not something that is easily forgotten.


 

Double Cicada Brood (1:00) The last time Brood 13 and Brood 17 emerged at the same time was in 1803. A lot has changed since then! But one thing stayed the same: cicadas everywhere.
@thenatureconservancy Fun fact: The next time two broods will cross paths like this will be in 2245! 😱 Will you see the #cicadaemergence this year? #periodicalcicadas ♬ original sound - The Nature Conservancy

An Historic Emergence Years in the Making

2024 marked the first time since 1803 that two cicada broods—the 17-year Brood XIII, concentrated in northern Illinois, and the 13-year Brood XIX found in southern Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and throughout the Southeast—emerged together. While this generation of insects, and the sound of their mating call, has died away, cicadaphiles may still be able to spot their offspring, which will begin hatching in early August. Check around tree roots where you may see nymphs crawling back into the ground to begin the cycle anew.


Quote: Tamra Reall

It’s magical, and that’s part of their name. Their genus name is magicada, and it’s because it’s a magical experience.

Entomologist, University of Missouri

The periodical cicada spends the vast majority of its life underground, emerging after 13 or 17 years (depending on the species) to transform, reproduce and ultimately die over the space of just a few days. Huge populations of these insects—numbering in the millions—have synced up to emerge within the same window of time to give them the best chance of successfully finding a mate and producing young before they are eaten by predators or expire naturally.

If you missed the 2024 hubbub, your next opportunity will be in 2025, as 17-year cicadas emerge in parts of Kentucky, southern Ohio and central and western Tennessee.

USDA Forest Service map showing, county-by-county, where periodical cicada broods of the United States are located, and when they can next be expected to emerge.
Active Periodical Cicadas The periodic emergence of millions of cicadas across the eastern US is a noisy, natural wonder. © US Forest Service
A newly emerged cicada dangles from the husk of its empty shell. It has a white body and translucent wings. Black markings on its face create the appearance of eyebrows over large red eyes
Waiting to Take Flight It takes a newly emerged cicada around 30 minutes for its new carapace to harden. © David Gumbart/TNC

Once the soil reaches about 64 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of 12-18 inches, the emergence of the cicadas is triggered. Male cicadas emerge first, followed by females a few days later. Females can be identified by their pointed abdomen and sheathed ovipositor, the organ they use to lay eggs.

Once they leave the ground, the cicadas will shed their shells and develop wings, allowing them to fly around and locate fresh hardwood trees and shrubs. You can see the singing organ of the male cicada by gently raising its wing and looking for the tymbal located where the wing meets the body. Above ground, cicadas have no natural inclination to fly away from predators, which is why they don’t seem to be afraid of people.

After they’ve found a tree or shrub to land on, the cicadas will mate and lay eggs at the end of branches. Newly hatched cicadas will then chew through the branch tips, causing them to fall off, carrying the young insects back down to the soil where they will spend the next 13 or 17 years. 

How Humans Impact Cicadas’ Natural Cycles

This is one of nature’s great cyclical events, and it’s a boon to many other species of animals that feast on the slow-moving insects. Like so many other natural cycles though, factors like ongoing human development and climate change could have a significant impact on an emerging brood. Scientists are eager to see how many of the cicadas will make an appearance this year compared to previous generations.

There has been increasing evidence of cicadas emerging several years ahead of schedule, which some scientists have suggested may be due to shifting temperatures. At the same time, insect populations have also seen serious declines worldwide over the last few decades, but the causes of these drops are not yet fully understood.

You Can Help! Cicada Community Science

That makes it more important than ever for scientists to learn where cicadas are emerging and in what sort of numbers—and we can all help. Using phone apps like Cicada Safari and iNaturalist, you can make digital observations that use your phone’s GPS to populate a map, helping to determine if or how a current year's brood range may have shifted since they last appeared.

As loud as they may be, we have plenty of reasons to be happy that cicadas will show up in huge numbers this year.

Billions of Cicadas Emerge (2 min) Conservation Ecologist Deborah Landau explains this amazing natural phenomenon happening every 17 years.
Three newly emerged cicadas in a line on a green leaf. Their soft white bodies dangle from empty brown shells while they wait for their carapace to harden.
Noisy Natural Wonder You can see the singing organ of the male cicada by gently raising its wing and looking for the tymbal located where the wing meets the body. © David Gumbart/TNC
× Three newly emerged cicadas in a line on a green leaf. Their soft white bodies dangle from empty brown shells while they wait for their carapace to harden.
Close view of a cicada as it emerges from its shell. It has a white body and small unformed yellow wings. Black markings appear to create eyebrows over beady red eyes.
Life Above Ground It takes a newly emerged cicada around 30 minutes to harden its new carapace and pump its wings full of blood. © David Gumbart/TNC
× Close view of a cicada as it emerges from its shell. It has a white body and small unformed yellow wings. Black markings appear to create eyebrows over beady red eyes.
Noisy Natural Wonder You can see the singing organ of the male cicada by gently raising its wing and looking for the tymbal located where the wing meets the body. © David Gumbart/TNC
Life Above Ground It takes a newly emerged cicada around 30 minutes to harden its new carapace and pump its wings full of blood. © David Gumbart/TNC

Living with Cicadas: Embrace the Emergence

With cicadas all around, you might be wondering how they will affect your pets, plants or yard. The good news is that cicadas are harmless on all counts.

Any damage that may be caused to mature trees and shrubs by hatching larvae should be minor and temporary. However, it’s probably a good idea to delay planting new trees until the fall.

If you’re worried about damage to an ornamental shrub or fruit producing tree, the best course of action is to cover it with netting while the cicadas are out (net holes should be 1 cm or smaller). Be sure to attach the netting to the trunk or the cicadas will climb up the trunk to the branches. Spraying the tree with chemicals won’t stop the cicadas but may poison the animals that eventually eat them.

You may notice patches of your yard where chunks of sod have been removed and small holes have been dug. You are probably looking at evidence of foxes, raccoons, skunks and crows on the hunt for cicada nymphs and a high-protein snack.

A cicada sits on a blade of green grass. The insect has a black body, large red eyes, and long translucent wings with thick yellow veins.
Periodical Cicadas Cicadas do not eat garden plants. In fact, cicadas don’t really eat at all, but will use their mouthparts to sip sap from trees and stay hydrated. © David Gumbart/TNC

A Blast from the Past: 2011

It’s been 13 years since Brood XIX last emerged in southern Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and throughout the Southeast. What was happening in 2011?

  • The King's Speech won Best Picture at the Oscars
  • The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off for the final mission of NASA's 30-year shuttle program
  • Winter arrived with the HBO debut of Game of Thrones
  • Oprah ended her daytime talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, after 25 years
  • Arcade Fire won Album of the Year at the Grammys
  • The Boston Bruins won the NHL's Stanley Cup for the first time in 39 years
  • Britain's Prince William married Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey
Candid headshot of Deborah Landau taken during a controlled burn.

Deborah’s efforts focus on ecological restoration, working to return natural processes–like fire–to the landscape to help maintain healthy, resilient natural systems.

More About Deborah Landau