--- title: An Animated Guide to the Rare 2024 Cicada Co-Emergence description: An animated look at what will happen in the upcoming emergence of Brood XIX and Brood XIII, when more than a trillion cicadas will surface. canonical: https://time.com/6968210/cicada-brood-emergence-animation-2024/ author: Solcyré Burga article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-04-17T19:42:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:11.685Z article:section: Science og:title: An Animated Guide to the Rare 2024 Cicada Co-Emergence og:description: It will be the first time since 1803—when Thomas Jefferson was President—that these particular broods simultaneously emerge. og:url: https://time.com/6968210/cicada-brood-emergence-animation-2024/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dcdf57e52ad04d9/698a55bfb3fce34d9f0cd0e0/CICADA-OPENER-ILLO.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Cicada emergence explainer illustration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: An Animated Guide to the Rare 2024 Cicada Co-Emergence twitter:description: It will be the first time since 1803—when Thomas Jefferson was President—that these particular broods simultaneously emerge. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dcdf57e52ad04d9/698a55bfb3fce34d9f0cd0e0/CICADA-OPENER-ILLO.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # An Animated Guide to the Rare 2024 Cicada Co-Emergence > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=3fef5118-378d-4df1-bb53-aa858f5790bb&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: An Animated Guide to the Rare 2024 Cicada Co-Emergence [Watch (HLS stream): An Animated Guide to the Rare 2024 Cicada Co-Emergence](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EmP1OKcl.m3u8) (2:12)  _Published 2024-04-22. More than a trillion cicadas are set to emerge from underground this spring to embark on the final leg of their lifetimes, in a massive co-emergence that hasn't been seen in more than 200 years. Here’s an animated look at what will happen in the upcoming emergence of Brood XIX and Brood XIII._ by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/) and [Lon Tweeten](https://time.com/author/lon-tweeten/) Apr 17, 2024 7:42 PM UTC  Illustrations by Lon Tweeten for TIME by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/) and [Lon Tweeten](https://time.com/author/lon-tweeten/) Apr 17, 2024 7:42 PM UTC More than a trillion noisy, inch-long cicadas are set to emerge from underground this spring to embark on the final leg of their lifetimes, in a massive co-emergence that hasn't been seen in more than 200 years. Cicadas that are part of both a 13-year and a 17-year brood will emerge at the same time this spring. It will be the first time since 1803—when Thomas Jefferson was President—that these particular broods simultaneously tunnel up from their burrows to find a mate and make way for the next generation of cicadas. Cicadas will be visible in a number of states including Iowa, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee, and others. But you don't need to worry that your neighborhood will be inundated with a greater number of cicadas than in past years; the two broods live across different regions—Brood XIII in the north and Brood XIX in the south— [according to the University of Connecticut](https://cicadas.uconn.edu/), meaning people are unlikely to witness both broods at the same time. Here’s an animated look at what will happen in the upcoming emergence of Brood XIX and Brood XIII. ## **Cicada nymphs emerge** Once the soil temperature near the cicadas’ home reaches about 64 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, the insects begin to climb through their exit holes.  --- ## Time to molt That same night, cicadas transform from nymphs, or their sexually immature phase, to adults. The cicadas molt into their new form by shedding their final exoskeleton. (The species already underwent this shedding process four times while living underground, [according to Arizona State University](https://askabiologist.asu.edu/cicada-life-cycle).)  --- ## **Their exoskeleton harden**s Cicadas must keep a low profile in the hours after they molt to avoid being eaten by predators while their new exoskeleton hardens. Afterwards, they begin looking for mates to reproduce in a ritual that will take place six to 10 days later.  --- ## **Buzzing calls for mates** Male cicadas are known for their deafening mating call, which in 2021 was reported to reach as high as 90 to 100 decibels, according to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2021/07/20/noise-myths-cicada/) (CDC). The sound is caused by the vibration of their tymbal, an organ that rests on the side of their abdomen. Since the cicadas emerge all at once, their sound is hard to miss, but the CDC advises folks not to fret. The sound [does not](https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2021/07/20/noise-myths-cicada/) cause hearing loss because other factors, like noise duration and exposure distance, have to be taken into account.  --- ## **Predators feast on the insects** A number of predators—birds, bears, fish, raccoons, turtles, and even some humans—love to eat cicadas, which are in the same family as the stink bug. While many will die as a tasty snack, the number of cicadas set to emerge is so large that predators will not make a significant dent in their population.  --- ## **Females lay their eggs** After mating, female cicadas use their ovipositor—a spear-like structure—to slice into small trees, shrubs, and even grapevines. It allows the insect to make small slits into the twigs or branches and lay nests of tens of eggs at a time. (This process does not cause any serious damage to the plant.) Females lay anywhere from 400 to 600 eggs before they begin to die and their bodies become fertilizer for the soil around them.  --- ## **From the eggs, nymphs hatch** Six to eight weeks after the eggs are laid, the nymphs hatch and fall to the earth. The tiny nymphs then dig to the plant’s roots where they will live for the next 13 or 17 years, depending on the type of brood.  --- ## **It’s a regional affair** Periodical cicadas will emerge across more than 10 states this spring, but their habitat spans across the eastern and midwestern U.S. Brood XIX is [geographically the largest](https://cicadas.uconn.edu/brood%5F19/) of all broods, living from Maryland to Georgia and Iowa to Oklahoma. The next emergence will happen in 2025, with Brood XIV.  ## Transcript The cicadas are coming in case you haven't heard. Well, you might hear them outside soon enough brood 19 and brood 13 are emerging at the same time for the first time since 1803, which was when Thomas Jefferson was President. So let's give you an animated. Look at what to expect this spring. Once the soil temperature near the cicadas home reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit or greater the buzzing insects begin to climb through their exit holes that same night cicadas transform from nymphs or they're sexually immature phase two adult the cicadas mold into their new form by shedding their final exoskeleton. Cicadas must keep a low profile in the hours after they molt in order for their new exoskeleton to harden and to prevent being eaten by Predators after words that begin looking for mates to reproduce in a ritual that will take place 6 to 10 days later male. Cicadas are known for their deafening mating call. The sound is caused by the vibration of their Timbaland organ that rest on the side of their abdomen Predators like birds Bear's fish raccoons Turtles. And even Some Humans love to Feast on cicadas, which are in the same family as the stink bug after mating female, cicadas use their ovipositor to slice into small trees shrubs and even grapevines females lay anywhere from 4 to 600 eggs before they begin to die and then their bodies become fertilizer for the soil around them six to eight weeks after the eggs are laid the nymphs hatch and fall to the ground the tiny then dig to plant roots where they live for the next 13 or 17 years depending on the type of fruit periodical. Cicadas will emerge across more than 10 states. This Spring Road 19 is geographically the largest of all bruised living from Maryland to Georgia and Iowa to Oklahoma if you managed to miss them this year the next emergence will happen in 2025 with brood 14. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6968210/cicada-brood-emergence-animation-2024/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6968210/cicada-brood-emergence-animation-2024/"},"headline":"An Animated Guide to the Rare 2024 Cicada Co-Emergence","datePublished":"2024-04-17T19:42:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:11.685Z","description":"It will be the first time since 1803—when Thomas Jefferson was President—that these particular broods simultaneously emerge.","url":"https://time.com/6968210/cicada-brood-emergence-animation-2024/","keywords":["Environment","Explainer","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dcdf57e52ad04d9/698a55bfb3fce34d9f0cd0e0/CICADA-OPENER-ILLO.gif?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/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Lon Tweeten","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lon-tweeten/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dcdf57e52ad04d9/698a55bfb3fce34d9f0cd0e0/CICADA-OPENER-ILLO.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cicada emergence explainer illustration","caption":"","creditText":"Illustrations by Lon Tweeten for TIME","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/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6968210/cicada-brood-emergence-animation-2024/","name":"An Animated Guide to the Rare 2024 Cicada Co-Emergence"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"An Animated Guide to the Rare 2024 Cicada Co-Emergence","description":"More than a trillion cicadas are set to emerge from underground this spring to embark on the final leg of their lifetimes, in a massive co-emergence that hasn't been seen in more than 200 years. 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