It’s A Rarity!
There’s a Double Cicada Brood this year and for those who love the fascination of these creatures, that means double the trouble! A double brood means that 2 types of cicadas will arise in the same geological area. Although this does happen from time to time, the 2 groups are normally in different locations of the country. Brood XIII and XIX crawl up from the soil this year and are expected to be seen possibly until around late June!
THE FACTS
The last time these 2 specific broods emerged together was over 200 years ago in 1803 when Thomas Jefferson was the president. Brood XII comes out every 17 years in the midwest while Brood XIX has a 13 year span swarming across the midwest and south east. These insects begin to surface when it hits about 64 degrees and only stay above ground for about 5 weeks before returning for their 13 or 17 years. The time they are underground is why cicadas have some of the longest lifespans of insects.
Fortunately, cicadas are pretty harmless so during the time they are here.. they are only a nuisance to our ears! Any damage done by cicadas is given back to the environment due to the feast they provide other species and nutrients back to the soil from decay.
This double brood will surely surface trillions of cicadas meaning lots of noise! The high pitch sounds are the male cicadas mating calls and can reach close to 120 decibels.
We will not see this rarity with these 2 broods again until 2245! Whoa!
