Rare Cicada event in US: A natural phenomenon after 221 years

In an extraordinary natural event, people in the United States are gearing up to witness a phenomenon that has not occurred since 1803. Billions of cicadas from two different broods, with distinct emergence cycles of 13 and 17 years, are set to surface simultaneously after 221 years.

The two groups, known as Brood XIII and Brood XIX, have habitats adjacent to each other, creating a narrow overlap in central Illinois. This convergence of emergence cycles is exceptionally rare, and the last time it happened, Thomas Jefferson was president.

😱 2 Broods of Screaming Cicadas will Emerge This Year for First Time in 221 Years pic.twitter.com/dIIo3GWBlx

— B̲eth Kay 🔥 (@PoisonDeathShot) January 20, 2024

Entomologist Gene Kritsky, author of the book ‘A Tale of Two Broods,’ highlighted the significance of this event, emphasizing its rarity. The first wave of cicadas is expected to appear in northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, northern Georgia, and up into western South Carolina.

Floyd W Shockley, an entomologist and collections manager at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, estimates that billions of cicadas will emerge during this dual emergence. If laid side by side, these one-inch-long insects would cover an astonishing 15,782,828 miles.

The event is described as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, and Shockley noted that nobody alive today will witness it happen again. After 2024, the cicadas are not expected to synchronize their emergence cycles for another 221 years. This rare natural phenomenon is set to captivate observers across the United States, providing a unique spectacle in the world of entomology.