Brood XIV, the second-largest group of periodical cicadas, rises once every 13 to 17 years, and will stay for only a few weeks, but their loud mating call could impact summer activities.
Periodical cicadas spend most of their lives underground feeding off the sap of tree roots. These critters will likely concentrate in Middle and Eastern Tennessee and most of Kentucky.
Grant Gardner, professor of entomology at MTSU, explained how the emergence of these cicadas will play out.
“The adults will emerge from the ground sometime in late May or early June of this year and spend about 3-6 weeks finding mates,” Gardner said. “Once this reproductive behavior is complete, the adults will die off.”
This group of cicadas will be the only one above ground this season, meaning there will be fewer cicadas in the United States than in 2024.
MTSU students, like Katie Burns, are concerned with how the emergence will affect outside events.
“Both my grandparents had a bunch of trees, so we found cicada shells everywhere,” Burns said. “And, in the morning, you could not do anything because they were [too] loud. You couldn’t go outside and talk.”
Male Brood XIV produces a mating call that can reach up to 100 decibels, as loud as a jackhammer.
“Male cicadas attract females by vibrating an organ on their abdomens, called a tymbal,” Gardner said. “This vibration forces air out of their abdomens that can produce the very loud noise common to cicada emergences.”
Other MTSU students feel this swarm can’t be more disruptive than last year’s emergence.
“Can’t be worse than last year. Last summer, I worked for Amazon as a delivery driver. I was out there with them and had many of them target[ed] my head,” said MTSU student, Elizabeth Taylor.
In 2024, two different cicada broods emerged simultaneously for the first time in 221 years. However, only one of the two, Brood XIX, the largest periodical group, impacted Tennessee.
Burns said Cicadas have never impacted spring and summer happenings before.
“We did a lot of events inside,” Burns said.
Cicadas typically emerge from April to May; these months tend to have the most severe weather and pollen, which will likely force many events to occur indoors, regardless of the Cicadas.
“Cicadas do not impact humans all that much. Sometimes the pure numbers that emerge can clog gutters and be stinky as they start to die, but that is just a general nuisance,” Gardner said.
Brood XIV will not harm pets or household gardens, according to Gardner.
He said it is important to note that cicadas aerate lawns, improve water filtration into the ground, add nutrients into the soil as they decompose, and are a valuable food source for birds.
“Just like any plant or animal, their bodies are built up of important elements. As they decay, these elements are reintroduced into soils and will continue to move through the ecosystem in biogeochemical cycles,” Gardner said.
Gardner said everyone should prepare to enjoy this emergence that only happens once every 17 years.
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