--- title: Cicadas Will Emerge in U.S. This Year—More Than a Trillion description: More than a trillion cicadas will be coming to the U.S. in a spectacle that has not happened since Thomas Jefferson was U.S. president in 1803. canonical: https://time.com/6564594/cicadas-us-trillions-2024/ author: Solcyré Burga article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-01-19T19:35:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:37.097Z article:section: Science og:title: More Than a Trillion Cicadas Will Emerge in the U.S. in 2024 og:description: Two adjacent broods of cicadas will emerge from the ground in April in an event that hasn't happened since 1803. og:url: https://time.com/6564594/cicadas-us-trillions-2024/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33b7f5c49580f6b3/698a440816d884187cc3cab4/Cicadas.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Brood X Cicadas Emerge After 17 Years Underground og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: More Than a Trillion Cicadas Will Emerge in the U.S. in 2024 twitter:description: Two adjacent broods of cicadas will emerge from the ground in April in an event that hasn't happened since 1803. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33b7f5c49580f6b3/698a440816d884187cc3cab4/Cicadas.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Two Broods of More Than a Trillion Cicadas Will Emerge in the U.S. This Year > Sponsored content. 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Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Jan 19, 2024 7:35 PM UTC More than a trillion cicadas will be coming to the U.S. in an event that has not happened since Thomas Jefferson was U.S. president in 1803. Two adjacent broods of the red-eyed flying cicadas will emerge from the ground in April, and residents in the Midwest and Southeast should brace themselves for a season of high-pitched buzzing. Cicada broods often emerge together, the [University of Connecticut](https://cicadas.uconn.edu/) says, but 2024 will mark the first time in more than 200 years that Brood XIX, which arrives every 13 years, and Brood XIII, which arrives every 17 years, will emerge at the same time. The next co-emergence of these broods won’t happen for another 221 years. Here’s what to know. ### More From TIME ## **What are cicadas?** For more than a decade, cicadas, which are in the same family as stink bugs and bed bugs, live in underground burrows until they are mature enough to rise to the surface. Weeks before they are set to emerge, the insects create tunnels to the surface, but do not come out of their homes until soil temperatures at a depth of 7-8 inches [are about 64 degrees](https://cicadas.uconn.edu/general%5Finformation/) Fahrenheit. Cicadas are unique because of their lengthy lifespan. But they don’t live long once they emerge from the ground— they only have four to six more weeks to mate. Periodical cicadas are about 1-1.5 inches long, though their wingspan is about double that length. They can be distinguished by their orange-colored veins and large red eyes. There are seven different species of cicadas, three of which surface every 17 years, while the remaining broods emerge every 13 years. Most cicadas are timely, but some may emerge a year late, or they may “[count the years](https://cicadasafari.org/)” incorrectly. For instance, thousands of cicadas emerged in the year 2000, four years ahead of schedule. ## **What to expect** Cicadas will become a sight to see across several states, though as few as two—Illinois and Indiana—will be able to see both broods. Brood XIII will be seen in states like Iowa, Wisconsin and possibly even Michigan. Brood XIX will emerge in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. While the mating call of these insects may be annoying, cicadas are harmless to humans. They don’t sting or bite, and are not poisonous. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says they can be a great food source for birds and are nutritious for the soil once they decompose. They may be damaging to young trees if female cicadas decide to lay their eggs in one. To better protect a tree, the EPA suggests covering them in mesh or netting with ¼-inch holes or smaller. Cicada Safari, a [website created](https://cicadasafari.org/) by Mount St. Joseph University, says people can wrap the branches with cheesecloth to keep cicadas away. But cicadas won’t be harmful to any flowers or fruit, because they only consume sap from trees and shrubs to stay alive. Pesticides do not work on cicadas. The insects are generally beneficial to local ecology. “Their emergence tunnels in the ground acts as a natural aeration of the soil. The large number of adult cicadas provides a food bonanza to all sorts of predators, which can have a positive impact on their populations,” Cicada Safari says. ## Transcript A preview of what a change climate and more geopolitical a unstable future might look like take a look at the world shipping lanes the daily commute for most of our consumer goods. Drought exacerbated by global warming has reduced traffic to the Panama Canal by 40% and shipping to the Suez Canal linking Europe to Asia has also come to a near standstill as iranian-backed houthi militants me a man s play attacks on Red Sea cargo ships and what they say is a protest against Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Of course, there are alternative strategies for transporting goods around the world. For example shippers with New York bound good from the Chinese Port of Los Angeles and trucks are where is across the United States instead of waiting to get through the Panama Canal and cargo ships flying to Europe. Asia route to the Suez Canal said take the long way around Africa. Those alternatives are often slower adding up to 15 days on some europe-asia routes and more expensive for the shipping companies, but the bigger long-term cost comes in the form of increased Planet warming carbon emissions. this is terrible transport advocacy organization transport and environment calculate the extra emissions produced by a cargo ship currently taking the long route from the European Port of Rotterdam China the alternative Journey resulted in an increase of 2519 metric tons of CO2, which is the equivalent of burning almost 14 rail cars worth of considering that on average 68 ships Transit the Suez Canal per day and they're approximately 95% of the traffic is currently being rerouted that could come to an extra 162727 tons of emissions for every day that the conflict continues none the last the weeks-long diversion around Africa for a couple of hundred more likely to have a marginal climate impact compared to other major sources of the missions, but still every time of Planet warming gases count Unlike the Suez Canal which links two bodies of water at similar elevations Transit through the Panama Canal locks that use water but several seasons of little to no rainfall has lower the water levels and as a result of boats passing through the canal have had to reduce their cargo loads by 40% in order to reduce drag that translates into diversion delays and additional carbon emissions, especially if she said to Diesel powertrains and trucks to transport Goods Overland and the amount of emissions from the shipping industry depend on another important factor speed shipping companies avoid traveling at Full Throttle to conserve fuel costs. But if Global demand for goods increases, so too will transportation fees and cargo ships will be more likely to lay on the gas increasing emissions exponentially. Conversely if ships slowed down they produce significantly fewer greenhouse gases, according to transport and environment of shipping companies reduce their speed by 10% total commission for the global Shipping sector would be reduced by 30%. The significant Improvement for an industry responsible for 2% of global emissions. If anything the bottlenecks in the two canals prove that the industry is resilient. Shipping fees have gone up but economies of scale mean that prices on the transport of goods themselves have not so long a journey may not mean much for end consumers still. 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