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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- | ||
| Cicada invasion: Trillions of noisy flying insects to swarm US for first time in 221 years | ||
| 2024-04-03 | ||
| [FoxNews] The 2 different broods of cicadas have not risen from the ground simultaneously since Thomas Jefferson was president. Billions, if not trillions, of two groups of noisy flying insects are expected to emerge from the underground in 17 U.S. states in April in a rare natural phenomenon not seen since 1803. The insects, known as cicadas, are set to spring up and engage in a frantic mating frenzy lasting several weeks before they will all eventually die near trees. But that’s not before they lay eggs on forest floors and the cycle of life begins anew. It will be the first time in 221 years that two types of cicadas -- brood XIX and XIII-- have risen from the ground at the same time, back when Thomas Jefferson was president, and it is not expected to happen again until 2244. The one to two-inch-long bugs possess sturdy bodies, bulging compounded red eyes and membranous wings with a three-inch wingspan. But don't be alarmed, cicadas are not harmful to humans, pets, household gardens, or crops, the Environmental Protection Agency says. In fact, they are a valuable food source for birds and mammals. Cicadas can aerate lawns and improve water filtration into the ground while they add nutrients to the soil as they decompose. Most cicada species come out every year, but in the United States, there are two periodical broods of cicadas that stay underground for either 13 years or 17 years. "The co-emergence of any two broods of different cycles is rare, because the cycles are both prime numbers," John Cooley, a cicada expert at UConn told Live Science. "Any given 13 and 17-year broods will only co-emerge once every 13 x 17 = 221 years." Brood XIII cicadas appear on a 17-year cycle, and are restricted mostly to northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin and a few counties in extreme northwestern Indiana, according to entomologist Floyd Shockley of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington. Brood XIX emerges on a slightly shorter 13-year cycle, and are widely distributed from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia - a total of 15 states, according to Shockley. The two broods together span parts of 17 states.
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| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #3 only about a half dozen counties have overlap with the two broods |
| Posted by: lord+garth 2024-04-03 14:16 |
| #2 Copperheads celebrate! |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2024-04-03 09:54 |
| #1 CICADA Map Ga. got lucky, along with a number of Southern States will NOT see both swarms. But I see the Bug Eaters in the North and Mid-west will have a feast. 😋🪳👨🍳 |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2024-04-03 05:44 |
