Trillions of cicadas are about to emerge in areas of the United States which may result in keeping lots of people awake at night for several weeks.
The University of Illinois Extension office says two groups of the bugs will begin crawling into the open once the ground reaches approximately 65 degrees, Fox Weather reported on Friday.
The outlet continued:
The 13-year Brood XIX group is thought to be one of the largest collections of the bugs and can be found from southern Iowa to Georgia and South Carolina, while the 17-year Brood XIII group will emerge in communities across the Midwest from northern Iowa through Ohio.
Because their reemergence is entirely dependent on the temperature of the ground, not all communities will see the bugs emerge simultaneously, with southern cities likely beginning the process in April and more northern locations not happening until June.
Some people are calling the event “cicada-geddon” and Dr. Frank A. Hale of the University of Tennessee’s Extension program estimated that there may be around a million cicadas per acre, according to WJYZ.
“This is the first time since 1803 that Broods XIX and XIII will co-emerge, according to the University of Connecticut (though we last saw a 13-year brood and a 17-year brood emerge together in 2015),” the article noted.
Video footage shows the bugs crawling around, and CBS News reported that a cicada’s screech is louder than a police siren:
It is interesting to note that the last time such an event occurred Thomas Jefferson was president of the United States, according to NBC News:
Per the Fox article, cicadas feed on tree roots while they are nestled for over a decade underground. Once they emerge from hiding, the bugs can live up to a month and a half as the males make noises to attract females.
“Why the bugs spend so much time underground has been the subject of many studies, with experts believing it is largely done to avoid predators,” the article concluded.
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