this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2024
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2024-11-11

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2 broods of screaming cicadas will emerge this year for first time in 221 years (www.cbsnews.com)
submitted 11 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/science@lemmy.world
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Screaming, flying cicadas will soon make a reappearance – but it's not going to be your average spring emergence. For the first time since the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, two broods of cicadas – XIX and XIII – will come out of the ground simultaneously after more than a decade of eating to transform into adults.

There are seven species of periodical cicadas – three that appear every 17 years and four that appear every 13. Smaller groups of those species, called broods, will spend those durations underground, where they will spend time eating and growing before they come out of the ground to become adults.

While it's not uncommon for people to come across the insects every spring, what makes this year different is the fact that two broods, one with a 17-year-span and one with a 13-year-span, will appear at the same time, cicada tracking site Cicada Safari says. It will be the first time since 1803 – when Thomas Jefferson was president of the U.S. and the Louisiana Purchase was made – that Broods XIII and XIX will be seen at the same time.

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[–] distantsounds@lemmy.world 46 points 11 months ago

I hope they vote Biden

[–] norbert@kbin.social 34 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I remember the last time a couple broods lined up and cicadas were everywhere. It was sometime in the 90s, maybe 95 or 96; my brother and I took some acid and went down into this national forest. I remember standing around talking and turning the headlights on for some reason and several cicadas were all over both of us. We played it off like it wasn't freaky as hell but I still remember it 20+ years later.

edit: it was 1998, Brood IV and XIX

[–] Psaldorn@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Time to invest in sesame seeds?

[–] creesco@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

This guy fucks

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Cicada season's telltale sign is the noise – the males produce loud buzzing sounds that, according to Orkin pest control company, are primarily used to attract mates

Did Orkin’s PR team ghost write this? What a weird corporate name drop for something that’s general knowledge.

Also: I knew the grandparents of some of these cicadas!

[–] sunbytes@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

This is how a lot of PR is done.

It's how a hell of a lot of articles are written.

PR company sends in a press release, journo thinks "great, I don't need to do any proper work today" and then turns the press release into article format.

[–] littlebluespark@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago

If all the cicadas reemerged at the same time, we could have something like Pitch Black. 🤪

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago

Time to short sesame seeds.

[–] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

There's a comparison one could make with the GOP in an election year but "shrieking mob consuming anything in their path and leaving destruction and famine in their wake" would be a pretty harsh characterization. Feels like I should apologize to the cicadas just for the thought.

[–] streetfestival@lemmy.ca 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Cool website with neat cicada pics and more info: https://www.cicadasafari.org/

[–] Skanky@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Periodical cicadas are best eaten when they are still white, and they taste like cold canned asparagus. Like all insects, cicadas have a good balance of vitamins, are low in fat, and, especially the females, are high in protein.

Excuse me, what?