The Courier-Journal (Louisville)

Ready to hear cicadas? Brood XIX is on its way

- Joyce Orlando Ray Padilla contribute­d to this report.

One brood of cicadas has been waiting a long time to emerge; now is their time.

Brood XIX has been dormant for the past 13 years, but will soon be “screaming” their love across the Midwest. The brood is set to emerge around mid-May 2024 with some emerging in parts of Kentucky.

Here’s when to expect the swarm and just why these screaming/singing insects only come up every couple of years:

When are cicadas expected to emerge?

Cicadas are expected to start emerging in multiple counties around the state starting mid-May and be around until mid-June. The timing of the emergence of Brood XIX all depends on the weather, though.

Kentucky counties that will hear and see them include: Allen, Caldwell, Christian and Trigg. In Indiana, Posey County can also expect them, according to Cicadamani­a.com.

In Tennessee, not everyone will not have to deal with the cicadas like it does with the 17-year periodical cicadas, according to the University of Tennessee Extension.

The following Tennessee counties are expected to see cicadas this year: Blount, Cheatham, Clay, Davidson, Grundy, Hamilton, Jackson, Loudon, Macon, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Putnam, Rutherford, Sequatchie, Smith, Stewart and Summer.

The cicadas typically begin to emerge when the soil eight inches beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees.

How long is a cicada’s life span?

The lifespan of cicadas is long but technicall­y short.

Female cicadas lay eggs in trees. When they hatch, they drop to the ground and begin burrowing until they are about eight feet undergroun­d. And there they will stay for either 13 or 17 years, depending on which brood they are in, and then tunnel their way to the surface.

Once the adult cicadas surface, they linger for about five weeks before they start to die off.

Where is cicada Brood XIX expected to emerge across US?

Kentucky is one of 14 states expected to see Brood XIX emerge from their 13year slumber. Other states expected to have the cicadas include: Alabama

Arkansas

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Louisiana

Missouri

Mississipp­i

North Carolina Oklahoma

South Carolina Tennessee

Virginia

Annual and periodical cicadas: What’s the difference?

Cicadas aren’t a rare thing and show up every year, but some years there are a lot more of them. And a lot louder.

You’ll hear annual cicadas on most summer nights in the South. The insects have green bodies and black eyes and are most active during the evening and nighttime hours.

Periodical cicadas, which are the ones emerging in just a few short months, have life cycles of either 13 or 17 years and come out in large groups called broods. Counties throughout middle Tennessee and in a handful of others will see the 13-year brood, while most of the state gets to hear the tones of the cicadas every 17 years. Periodical cicadas have red eyes.

Superstiti­ons around cicadas

The University of Tennessee Extension compiled different superstiti­ons that come with a large cicada brood.

American Indians believed that the large cicada emergence had evil significan­ce. Early American colonists were familiar with the Biblical story of locust plagues in Egypt and immediatel­y thought a “locust plague” was punishing them, colonist had never seen periodical cicadas until the insects suddenly appeared by the millions.

Today, cicadas and locusts are still confused and cicadas are commonly called locusts. The term “locust” correctly refers to certain species of grasshoppe­rs, according to UT Extension.

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