The calendar progresses, showing the approach of spring, and with it, announcing the arrival of the cicadas in 13 states in the eastern United States, where people will be able to witness their resurgence, but above all, they will be able to hear the deafening song of these species.
Gene Kritsky, founder of Safari Cicada, told USA Today that this year, Americans will be able to see the Brood XIV cicada species, which will start to be felt from the third week of April or as soon as the rain falls. This type of cicadas are periodical, emerging to the surface every 17 years, and they are among the largest along with the Brood XIX species, which emerged last year.
The last time the Brodd XIV cicadas resurfaced was in 2008, and after this 2025, they will not resurface in the United States again until 2042.
As part of their life cycle, cicadas emerge in mass to the surface, digging tunnels up to the surface. They do not come out until temperatures reach between 64 to 65 degrees. Once on the surface, they mate and lay eggs, until they die after several weeks.
“It takes approximately two full weeks for the vast majority of cicadas to emerge... Once they start emerging in a specific location, that starts the clock. You will have cicadas in that place for the next six weeks,” explained Kritsky.
States in the United States where cicadas will emerge
According to Kritsky, the states in the United States where the cicadas will emerge are Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, although they do not rule out that they may also be seen in southern Indiana.
John Cooley, associate professor of ecology and biology at the University of Connecticut, told USA Today that the states where the phenomenon will be most visible are Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as Georgia, the Carolinas, and Pennsylvania.
The first states where cicadas will be seen are those in the south, such as Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, said Kritsky, who indicated that the order in which they could appear is as follows:
- Third week of April: North Georgia
-Fourth week of April: South Tennessee and South Carolina
-First week of May: central Ohio, northern Tennessee, western Virginia
-Second or third week of May: West Virginia, northern Kentucky, southern Ohio, Maryland, and Massachusetts.