--- 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: 2026-02-24T16:59:21.485Z 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=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 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=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Two Broods of More Than a Trillion Cicadas Will Emerge in the U.S. This Year ## Video: The Climate Impact of Avoiding the Panama and Suez Canals [Watch (HLS stream): The Climate Impact of Avoiding the Panama and Suez Canals](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/R4oVqryi.m3u8) (4:14)  _Published 2024-01-19. For a preview of what a hotter, more geopolitically unstable future might look like, you don’t have to go much further than the world’s shipping lanes—the daily commute for most of our consumer goods._  by [Solcyré Burga](/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Jan 19, 2024 7:35 PM CUT  A periodical cicada, a member of Brood X, takes flight in the tree tops on in Columbia, Maryland on June 03, 2021. A periodical cicada, a member of Brood X, takes flight in the tree tops on in Columbia, Maryland on June 03, 2021.Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Solcyré Burga](/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Jan 19, 2024 7:35 PM CUT 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/ "undefined") 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/ "undefined") 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/ "undefined")” 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/ "undefined") 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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6564594/cicadas-us-trillions-2024/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6564594/cicadas-us-trillions-2024/"},"headline":"Two Broods of More Than a Trillion Cicadas Will Emerge in the U.S. This Year","datePublished":"2024-01-19T19:35:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:59:21.485Z","description":"Two adjacent broods of cicadas will emerge from the ground in April in an event that hasn't happened since 1803.","url":"https://time.com/6564594/cicadas-us-trillions-2024/","keywords":["animals","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33b7f5c49580f6b3/698a440816d884187cc3cab4/Cicadas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Solcyré Burga","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33b7f5c49580f6b3/698a440816d884187cc3cab4/Cicadas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Brood X Cicadas Emerge After 17 Years Underground","caption":"Brood X Cicadas Emerge After 17 Years Underground","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6564594/cicadas-us-trillions-2024/","name":"Two Broods of More Than a Trillion Cicadas Will Emerge in the U.S. This Year"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Climate Impact of Avoiding the Panama and Suez Canals","description":"For a preview of what a hotter, more geopolitically unstable future might look like, you don’t have to go much further than the world’s shipping lanes—the daily commute for most of our consumer goods.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/R4oVqryi/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-01-19T20:42:53.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/R4oVqryi.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6564594/cicadas-us-trillions-2024/","duration":"PT4M14S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6564594/cicadas-us-trillions-2024/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```