As described by the publication Scientific American, two adjacent broods of periodical cicadas will emerge this spring in the eastern half of the U.S. These insects “crawl out of the ground once every 13 or 17 years for a rush of mating and egg-laying until all the adults die, and the next generation is tucked underground until their own teenage years.” This year, in a rare phenomenon, both a 13-year brood and a 17-year brood will emerge across adjoining territories. Some are calling the upcoming appearance of these two broods, and the exceptionally loud buzzing sound they will make, “cicada-geddon.”
For more, we turn to Dr. Melissa Sisson, an assistant professor in the Department of Natural Sciences.
Dr. Melissa Sisson, shown during a field research trip, and, in the inset, a Great Southern Brood cicada.