Why 2024's cicada emergence is so rare | BBC Global
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Published 2024-05-03
They spend 13 or 17 years underground (depending on the brood), and then suddenly emerge in their billions over the course of a few weeks.
And now, in 2024, an ultra rare "dual emergence" of cicadas is happening – with two different broods of emerging at the same time. It has not happened for 221 years – and won't happen again for another 221 years.
Cicada expert Dr Gene Kritsky explains it all.
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All Comments (21)
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One of my most cherished childhood memories is me failing asleep during dusk in a hammock while hearing the cicadas singing in the distance, to this day, hearing them relaxes me to the point I begin feeling sleepy.
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We are currently in the beginning of two brood emergences in central Illinois. They are absolutely everywhere. On our trees, all over our yard, on our basketball hoop, on our parked cars, on our wooden swing set, in the garage, on our mailbox, on the house, and occasionally on my wife who proceeds to get terrified.
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And some people even called the police to complain about the noise. No joke.
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😳 17 years living underground is a long time. . wonders of nature.
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i love the way their chorus converges and expands until the sound seems to come from everywhere at once
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I remember a french tourist asking me what the noise was, his little mind was blowing when I told him it was an insect
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Being Out of sight doesn’t mean nonexistence. Rather it’s a time of growth. Sometimes this happens to us in life🤔 , out of sight with no visible accomplishment. That could be the time of growth like cicadas😊
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They are everywhere here in Nashville
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I got to see the total eclipse on April 8 and then the cicada emergence on May 8. I feel lucky.😁I know some people don't like bugs, but I find cicadas to be adorable. The night of May 8, we had a huge thunderstorm. When I got to the office the next morning, there were hundreds of these little guys taking shelter near the front door to my office because it's under a covered patio.
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You know that strange buzzing sound you hear in the background of favorite anime? Those insect sounds are cicadas. Japan has about a dozen of species and they are known to spend anywhere from 3 to 6 years underground but they come out every year. We don't have any periodic leaping swarms. The number of swarms depends on factors like weather and temperature. They're usually heard annually from June to September.
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I remember when I was little, about 52 years ago, cicadas were literally everywhere. I loved catching them! They were green in color, mostly!
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Singing for a mate no longer there...that hit deep.
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It's never a good idea to give a cicada a 10-year amortized loan.
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I love these little guys. To me there a sound of summer.
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Interesting that 13 and 17 are both prime numbers. The Cicadas clearly have evolved to avoid something as these two numbers are not divisible but by themselves. What is that thing they are trying to avoid is the question
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The next common emergence for 13 or 17 years cycles will occur after 221 years. Reason being 13 x 17= 221 which is the least common multiple for prime numbers 13 and 17. Last common emergence was in 2024-221 = 1803
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Thanks. I'm in England and have always been interested in these insects...
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People who live there shouldn't be annoyed by them. Y'all are so lucky to experience this! Wish they didn't take so many years to emerge, they're such interesting and cool insects, love their sounds
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I've always wondered how to pronounce 'cicada'. I've read it in books but as we don't have them in the UK I'd never actually heard the word aloud before. So, many thanks for the education.
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Cicadas are the symbol of summer in Italy. I love them ❤
