What you need to know about this noisy, natural wonder. 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. 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. Get the latest nature news and occasional bug photos monthly. Check out a sample Nature News email. Please provide a valid email address. To review your email preferences, please visit nature. We may have detected a typo. Please enter a valid email address formatted as name company. Did you mean to type? Please contact us at webmaster tnc. 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 hubbub, your next opportunity will be in , as year cicadas emerge in parts of Kentucky, southern Ohio and central and western Tennessee. Once the soil reaches about 64 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of 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.
