America's Cicada 'apocalypse': 200-year event will see one trillion insects from two groups infest 16 states... and our map shows the hotspots

More than one trillions cicadas are set to emerge in the US this yearTwo groups will also appear for the first time together since 1803READ MORE:  FDA warns not to eat cicadas if you're allergic to shellfish 

A cicada ‘apocalypse’ is coming to the US, which will see more than one trillion of the red-eyed insects emerge from the ground.

The insects hibernate in either 13- or 17-year cycles, but a group from each will surface together for the first time in more than 200 years – the last time Thomas Jefferson was president.

The infestation is set for 16 states that will likely see hundreds, if not thousands, of trees ‘damaged beyond recovery,’ a professor at Tennessee Tech University warned.

Dr Gene Kritsky, a professor, entomologist and cicada expert at Mount St. Joseph University, told DailyMail.com: ‘The dual emergence is a one in three or four lifetime event.

‘This happens 12 times every 221 years, but this is the first time since 1803 that these broods will emerge together.’

The infestation is set for 16 states, with some states like Illinois and Indiana seeing both groups around the same time

Brood XIX last appeared in 2011, but is now set to be unleashed in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The other group, Brood XIII, has a 17-year cycle and last piqued its head out in 2007.

States set for Brood XIII include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Brood XIX, known as the Northern Illinois Brood, contains three different species of cicadas and the Great Southern Brood, or Brood XIII, has four different species.

Brood XIX will start their great escape from the ground closer to the middle of May.

And will be located mostly in midwestern states.

The red-eyed winged insects hibernate in either 13- or 17-year cycles, but the state will soon be buzzing with both – and experts have predicted there will be one million per acre of land

The ground will first have to reach the perfect temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of 12 to 18 inches in the ground before the insects will emerge. Soil temperatures act as a signal to cicadas, letting them know the outside world is optimal for survival

Brood XIII will start escaping from the ground in late April through the second week of May.

‘The southern states will them the last week of April, followed by parts of Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia in May,’ said Kritsky, who recently published a book called ‘A Tale of Two Broods: The 2024 Emergence of Periodical Cicada Broods XIII and XIX.’

‘By the third week of May, the insects will start appearing in Illinois and, Missouri, Wisconsin and Iowa.’

The ground will first have to reach the perfect temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of 12 to 18 inches in the ground before the insects will emerge.

Soil temperatures act as a signal to cicadas, letting them know the outside world is optimal for survival – but cold is not a cicada killer.

‘We need two or three days above 80 degrees for the soil to reach 64 degrees,’ Kritsky said. 

‘Cicadas have receptors that are triggered when temperatures are getting warmer.’ 

He continued to explain that it will take about two weeks for all the adult insects to emerge and the public will experience the infestation for about six weeks. 

What makes these creatures so interesting is the ability to harden their exoskeletons, which takes about five days, and shed it in order to being flying

The two broods are expected to live for around one month, but due to the mass amount of insects, Shockley believes there ‘will be sufficient numbers to necessitate removal of their bodies’ in urban areas

‘It’s cold now but the cicada apocalypse is coming this summer,’ reads a post on Reddit.

‘This will be a once in a lifetime double emergence of large broods across large areas of the midwest.’

Experts have predicted that forested areas, including urban green areas, will see a larger infestation than agriculture regions.

However, the insects are mostly annoying to humans – rather than a danger.

Cicadas do not carry disease, but create slits in tree branches to lay their eggs.

Kritsky said the insects act as natural gardeners for matured trees by carving holes in branches the size of human fingers.

‘That provides natural aeration in the summer and allows rain to seep into the soil and trees,’ he continued.

‘However, a new sapling will get killed.  When females lay eggs in sapling branches, the insects sometimes that weakens that branch.

‘The branch will hang there and the leaves will turn brown in what is called flagging.

‘I’ve seen a young planting of an Oak tree. Cicadas were all over the branches and every branch was flagging. The tree starved to death.’

Cicadas prefer specific trees like Oak, Maple and some fruit ones like cherry and pear.

The insects are also drawn to younger trees because of the diameter.

People who have recently planted trees can wrap the branches in a mesh netting to keep the cicadas at bay.

‘Generally, mature trees can sustain minor damage from cicadas,’ according to Davey, a professional tree service company based in Ohio.

‘Young trees, however, can experience canopy loss and a reduction in photosynthesis due to their limited number of branches.’

There are more than 3,000 known species of cicadas.

The cicadas form 15 major ‘broods’ of cicadas in different geographic areas.

These insects emerge from the ground in droves, with some years seeing trillions of cicadas in a season.

What makes these creatures so interesting is the ability to harden their exoskeletons, which takes about five days, and shed it in order to being flying.

Kritsky said cicadas can create an unpleasant odor.

‘As soon as they start coming out of the ground, people are screaming, ‘They’re going to kill my trees,’ and then the wonder what that smell is.’

The odor happens as the insects are dying and the decaying process sets in.

The loud signing is done only by males as a way to attract a mate.

After its mating call captures a female, the pair mate and the female lays eggs in the tree.

The nymphs then drop out and burrow underground to begin their own hibernation- and the cycle starts again.