Why 2024's cicada emergence is so rare | BBC Global

[@LayllasLocker]

And some people even called the police to complain about the noise. No joke.

[@aaronthenorm5400]

Another scathing indictment of our education system. No joke!

[@Sheilawisz]

Wow! Really? I knew that in the United States people call the police for any little thing, but calling the cops on the cicadas is too much!

[@Michiganian8]

It is very loud

[@JaKobe2290]

wasn't it in south carolina

[@meghansullivan6812]

wtffffff

[@luizeduardomagalhaesferrei1265]

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.

[@stellakowalski1]

Such a beautiful memory! Thank you for sharing!

[@1998232v6]

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.

[@greghackstaff217]

Are they destroying crops?

[@1998232v6]

@@greghackstaff217 no, they are just flying all over the place and being annoying in general to be honest.

[@theelectrichobo829]

They live on tree sap not crops​@greghackstaff217

[@AK.Carcajou]

You’ll be fine. They’ll all be gone in a couple weeks. Use that time to look cicadas up online, or in books. This is nothing new.

[@mastiffpeople4868]

Same here, getting on my nerves

[@Martin_Priesthood]

😳 17 years living underground is a long time. . wonders of nature.

[@southernguy35]

Really sad for them to pop up out of the ground and find old joe biden doing his banjo interpretation of Steven Foster. Trump, Trump, Trump and put biden in jail.

[@Martin_Priesthood]

@@southernguy35 🤣😂🤣

[@sassyfras4085]

​@@southernguy35 Biden looks just like 'banjo boy' in Deliverance. TRUMP 24 MAGA!

[@southernguy35]

@@sassyfras4085 , yeah, but biden shure do have purdy lips.

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

i love the way their chorus converges and expands until the sound seems to come from everywhere at once

[@SomewhereInTime5059]

I've noticed that, too. So fascinating and they are all in sync with each other. Very fascinating. The wonders of Nature. 😉

[@ryan1111111555555555]

I remember a french tourist asking me what the noise was, his little mind was blowing when I told him it was an insect

[@noreengulalai6325]

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😊

[@alipapa]

I love your comment. Nature teaches us a lot about life and ourselves. Cyclical flow of the seasons. Flexible rigidity of the trees. Lessons go on.

[@noreengulalai6325]

@alipapa Thank you, very true there is so much to learn from nature besides the mesmerising beauty in it. Also a way of healing.🍀

[@meghansullivan6812]

AW

[@eddie992]

Loved your comment. Very insightful and thought provoking.

[@noreengulalai6325]

@eddie992 Thank you,,,

[@thelastdefenderofcamelot5623]

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.

[@mikaelafox6106]

Anime is one reason why I like the sound of cicadas.

[@OntarioFreshwaterFishing]

Where I live in Canada we get them yearly. I’ve heard cicadas every summer for my entire life.. actually this year they seem to be more chill than last year. Go figure

[@MarcoCandela]

It's very cool because cicadas make different sounds based on they place of the world they live in. I don't know if this is based on different spieces or "clans", I didn't dig enaugh into the question. But it's like human music, how change from country to country. But the cicada sound build up the 30% of magic of many Miyazaki and Takahata movie.

[@giygas_9577]

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.

[@justcomedy2185]

They are everywhere here in Nashville

[@_MORGANIME_]

They are!!!! Worst first date ever 😂… I’m not going outside again this year!

[@gabagoooby]

Same here in Chicago, literally piles of them at the bases of trees

[@youngx5864]

​@@gabagooobyyes I am in Chicago too. Well in a suburb of Chicago. I am in Oak Forest and they are everywhere and been chasing all of us down out here in the day time lol. I heard there wasn't that many in the city doe

[@northerniltree]

It's never a good idea to give a cicada a 10-year amortized loan.

[@The72Nana]

😂😂😂

[@srdgjkhvdfhsedfkjd-x5m]

underrated lol

[@Kane0123]

Came looking for this

[@virgil9303]

Singing for a mate no longer there...that hit deep.

[@tula7141]

I remember when I was little, about 52 years ago, cicadas were literally everywhere. I loved catching them! They were green in color, mostly!

[@jackc6622]

I love these little guys. To me there a sound of summer.

[@maryroberts2099]

There are tons of them where I’m at. Can’t talk outside because of the noise

[@anniena3824]

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

[@Garcwyn]

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

[@LandersWorkshop]

Lucky years for them maybe?

[@chrishill5511]

I believe it is to avoid predator population cycles. If their cycle is a prime number, there won't be smaller factors of that number that align with predator cycles.

[@Garcwyn]

@@chrishill5511 or they don’t want to coincide with each other to avoid resource competition a/o scarcity. They do but every 221 years

[@jaywalker3087]

Thanks. I'm in England and have always been interested in these insects...

[@erikgilson1687]

In America we put them in our armpits and call them Pit Squawkers

[@Hyraladen]

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

[@srdgjkhvdfhsedfkjd-x5m]

It's a strange sound; sounds like a pulley coming loose on your engine, a drone following you, a jet taking off, and a machine running at a plant.... I had to pull over to figure which of those things it was, (because it was so LOUD), just to find out it was coming from the woods, I thought the apocalypse had started for a moment. 😂

[@ScorpioBornIn69]

I lived in the Chicaog area in the suburbs and still remember the 1990 outbreak and they were loud during the day time for several weeks.

[@patreekotime4578]

There are thousands of species of Cicada and at least one of those emerge every year. Most cicadas are inaccurately named "Annual cicadas" and they spend much shorter periods underground, from 2 to 5 years, like fireflies. "Periodic cicadas" just spend longer underground. But basically every year there are overlapping emergences from different species or from different broods of the same species.

[@deadwingdomain]

🤨 In no way are they a delight. They are a plague, if you ask me.

[@SJLamb-te3dt]

They are cool but they chew up trees so bad that sometimes they die. Three years ago we had a cicaida event and one of our japanese maples died. Our others had long open wounds on every branch that was as thick or thicker than a pencil and our dogwoods are still needing supplemental water and fertilizer to get their previous strength back. Ornamental trees are so expensive. They are cool bugs but the do cause some pretty expensive damage.

[@JaneAustenAteMyCat]

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.

[@loredanatagliaferri5339]

Cicadas are the symbol of summer in Italy. I love them ❤

[@Kenan-Z]

The same here in Türkiye. Most people detest their songs but I love their chorus as background noise. 🙂

[@mimim8532]

And in Tokyo Japan

[@pluffer241]

And in Australia. I adore it when they sing loudly.

[@LayllasLocker]

In all of the Mediterranean. Love them. ♥

[@holysong2099]

You guys have symbols for seasons?

[@edwinavanasselt2108]

When the summer arrives the Cicadas start their symphonies. Love it. ❤ Here in Europe its normal. In Africa and many more countries where I had the honor and luck to live in, it has been always magical to hear them. Here in the South of France as well its magical. Just love Nature. 👼💙🙏🥰✨️🍀🦋🕊

[@WanderlustGoGo]

I live in South Africa and sometimes it can be a nuisance ❤

[@byronbostick4310]

Nashville has trees everywhere. The perfect breeding ground for them

[@brandonh9185]

Wow almost like every place in earth besides the desert has trees

[@marc8750]

I live in SC. Over the weeks, the amount of them was the most disturbing part. Noticed all the other insects, bees, wasps, and mosquitoes, were rarely in sight.

[@ianalphaomega]

Since I watched this documentary in Netflix, Life on Earth, i was so amazed the life of cicadas. why 17 years? no one knows.

[@Blokfluitgroep]

Some people think that because of the irregular/nondividable year it's hard for other animals to anticipate to eat them.

[@kathieburchett]

I have always enjoyed the song of the Cicadas. When I hear their song in summer, I always feel at one with this beautiful earth 🌎.

[@space1commander]

Very very cool. Right here where I live in Durham, NC USA the whole area sounds like Jet engine. Which is like music to our ears that we can only enjoy every 13 or 17 years or in this case in 2024 every 221 years.

[@nelsonnelson999]

Who is here in May Full Flower Moon 2024? Cicadas sing a song of Love...it's their mating call...cicadas' mating calls are in the key of E minor, with a murmur of 1.3 kilohertz (E at the sixth position on a piano) and an overtone that reaches F sharp

[@Momcat_maggiefelinefan]

Due to my location, I get only 5 and 7 year cicadas. Nowhere near the noise the upcoming periodical cicada invasion will make, but to me it’s a sign of summer. I collect the empty casings from my tree trunks and make funky arrangements. Add a picture box frame and you’ve got an interesting work of folk art. Sort of like the “lemonade when you’ve got lots of lemons” thing. I get requests! Old hippy living the life, lol! 🇨🇦🖖🏻🇨🇦

[@meghansullivan6812]

they signify summer to me too!!! i see my future in ur comment hehehe

[@niteshades_promise]

you dont have giant cicadas every year?🍻

[@Momcat_maggiefelinefan]

@@niteshades_promise Not like areas farther south of my area. I’m in Southeastern Ontario, an hour northwest of the USA border with New York State. Not warm enough for the big boys, the ones mega-swarming this year. But I consider summer officially here with the sound of the first cicada in my back yard. They like to lay eggs on my huge spruce trees. I sometimes get to watch the final moult in their metamorphosis, crawling up the rough bark to emerg into short adulthood. Now I’m teaching my 12 year old grandson the process. He’s a bug love like Grandma! 🇨🇦🖖🏻🇨🇦

[@alanhelton]

Living out in Arizona it’s been a while since I heard one. Thanks for the audio clip at the end.

[@nicolascortes9005]

Bro this sounds like jeepers creepers lol

[@LOLO-jj2by]

LoL funny you said that. my son and I said the same thing. They look like little jeepers creepers, Creepers come every 23 years to eat LoL

[@ejkk9513]

Did he just say 96 decibels? Wow... I'm really glad I live on the West Coast.

[@07MoPower]

You should be. I have to wear ear plugs when I go outside. 🥵

[@jaker3151]

So do the two separate broods ever mate/interbreed in the once in 221 years dual emergence? If so do the offspring follow the 17 or 13 year cycle?

[@friedrichschiller3012]

Interesting question.

[@gromitmuggromitmuggromitmug]

I think the two broods are in different regions. I’m not sure any of them overlap.

[@meghansullivan6812]

@@gromitmuggromitmuggromitmug yes i think this is the case

[@JS-zb1vv]

@@gromitmuggromitmuggromitmugthey overlap in central Illinois in a small part.

[@quitlife9279]

It's a crappy uninformative video but there are actually 7 species of periodical cicadas, and they live in different areas. So no i don't think they are capable of interbreeding.

[@aaa7189]

We hear them in late July in Buffalo, NY

[@eileenryan2248]

Sir, Thank you for the information on the cicadas. I found it helpful and knowledgeable.

[@ashleylambson]

Caught them all the time growing up, every year. Still will catchem an lettem go, always loved the buzzing. Where i live now they are bigger and louder and sounds like my skillsaw going off when they are near.

[@thaintriguing1]

I’m hearing them in the Raleigh NC area; there’s actually two distinct sounds, one of them sounds like an industrial type of humming sound-the other is the insect sound

[@Rick-qf5de]

But this time the snakes came out to feed too..... !!! 😮

[@pgfrank2351]

I just recently got into field recording as a hobby (audio recording nature) and im so excited to record these guys

[@stellakowalski1]

I would be so lost & sad to not hear these little guys every year singing for a mate! Here in the Chicago area they mean AUGUST. They are singing their little hearts out in August. They mean warm early evenings after a beautiful summer day to me. I’ve heard them all my life and am 72 years old. I would be lost without them. We have the 17-year cicadas and those little ones can count! Their last appearance was in 2007. And guess what - 2024 is exactly 17 years later. How in the world do they know that? They are different than the yearly variety in that there are huge swarms of them & they have beautiful red eyes. They are completely harmless to humans, animals & birds. They are soooo cool! Their next appearance won’t be till 2041 & I hope I live to see them again. (But that’s pushing it)♥️

[@forkliftguy]

I've never seen the smaller black cicadas, with red eyes, until now. Where i live Mississippi, its always the bigger green cicadas, and they are alot louder. First ever seeing the black cicadas and they are everywhere.

[@niteshades_promise]

the giant cicadas come every year and are larger and black, these are smaller and have red or yellow coloring.🍻

[@NZKiwi87]

It was pretty quiet & normal on the cicada front in New Zealand this year. They can really get loud on occasion tho, so can relate to this story!

[@elifuentes7070]

Are cicadas in New Zeland periodical?

[@anubhavsolankey]

Man, nature keeps on amazing us! For the unknown it might be just nuisance but once you get to know about the reason behind it, it just makes sense

[@FaisalQuadri22]

Contrary to popular opinion I actually like the sound of the cicadas. It reminds me of summer time. It is just really annoying to see them everywhere. Especially considering the fact that I HATE bugs. Luckily for me they are harmless and usually stay near trees so you’re not just fighting a swarm everytime you want to get groceries 😂

[@udanigunarathne6693]

I experienced the emergence of a similar animal here in Sri Lanka, during the weekend trip last week…

[@Lucyh6776]

I am curious. If cicadas emerge from under ground why are their shells (not sure the technical term) above ground and not below ground?

[@yiowatho1839]

I'm from Chicago and I'm waiting for it 😂

[@abraxasjinx5207]

I'm in central North Carolina and I've only seen one type this season. Are there only certain areas where you can find both breeds emerging together?

[@jimmy_jamesjams_a_lot4171]

I know this for a fact. Cicadas can literally blow themselves up. When the temperature stays constant they’ll buzz. So if the temperature stays constant enough, they’ll start to buzz at their own resonant frequency and they can do this until They’ll explode. I am not Joking. I’ve heard them do This.

[@randazza]

I once found a cicada inside my shoe, and I reacted as if the girl from The Ring came out of the tv

[@carsondenny1986]

I had one crawling through my beard

[@romeblanchard3419]

A lot of natural events this year Total solar eclipse, northern lights and double cicadas emergence

[@Wazza555]

Bear Grylls: "Cicadas, pound for pound, have more protein than beef. I know what I'm having for dinner, breakfast, lunch, afters, seconds and elevenses."

[@Jm649]

Welcome to the world young cicadas! I hope you enjoy shrieking to your hearts content 🪲

[@a24-45]

We have them in Australia. When I was at school, kids would catch them and play with them and carry them around. They are definitely the sound of summer. If the summer isnt hot enough, they won't emerge. Some summers have been too wet and too cool and the cicadas didnt appear -- I missed them.

[@matticus6339]

I am in Concord NC and it has been amazing this year, so loud and just awesome. Glad to be able to experience it.

[@bananadragon1111]

I’m in concord as well but I haven’t heard much sound at all.

[@matticus6339]

@@bananadragon1111 Ive noticed not everywhere is as bad but my yard is SUPER loud...love it.

[@susanb2140]

Periodical cicadas are awesome, and it’s cool to have a dual emergence with a little geographical overlap. But the reporting on this phenomenon is incredibly frustrating. A dual emergence is not that rare! THIS PARTICULAR brood of 17-year cicadas, and THIS PARTICULAR brood of 13-year cicadas will only sync up once every 17*13=221 years. But almost every year, there is a brood of 17-year cicadas (13 broods, so 13 out of every 17 years). And there are three extant broods of 13-year cicadas. Every possible pairing of broods from each group will have a dual emergence once in each 221-year cycle. That’s 39 years out of 221, or 3 every 17 years-so about once every five or six years, we get two broods syncing up. To suggest that a dual emergence is happening for the first time since 1803 is extremely misleading. This has been your cicada pedantry for the day. Thank you.

[@KarmeshMadhavi]

Wonderful Nature.

[@MarkMeadows90]

We have the two broods here, if I'm not mistaken. The Pharaoh and the Cassini subspecies.

[@motleyaces]

Both broods are not in the same area but they overlap Middle Illinois.

[@Robert-M]

Just like Peter Gregory predicted in Silicon Valley. Time to buy Indonesian sesame seed options to profit off of Burger King's sesame seed demand during this dual cicada emergence.

[@charleshardison5037]

Seen a lot of them in GA a few weeks ago… leading me to this video lol

[@King.Mark.]

there will be good crops next year 👍

[@TheMikeall714]

Fr a couple days ago one of em got in my house and it screams around 3 feet near me. Absolute nightmare fuel of a sound.

[@cameronlewis1218]

So who’s gonna be President in 2245?

[@Colleenrefine]

The antichrist will rule this world soon Then after the Great Tribulation is over Jesus Christ will be ruling on earth for 1,000 years Only Jesus saves ❤ John 3:3

[@leakybasementrecords987]

Cyborg trump

[@Patel-pl4nd]

@@Colleenrefine🪔🌹🙏🏽

[@Hvacmaniac97]

Your mom

[@Hvacmaniac97]

Your mom

[@BellaAndZy]

The cicadas kinda broke me cuz now after watching I kinda am scared of bugs grass holes and dirt

[@jonathanpeterson1984]

I’ve always enjoyed the cicada emergence. This planet is an absolute mystery SO much of the time.

[@scrizvevo7660]

Massachusetts is every 17 years.

[@ryph3]

Why am i excited about this lmao

[@eric2500]

Creature at the national zoo were seen eating them like snacks.

[@misottovoce]

I wonder if the cycling also is the same in Europe? I would love to hear them again! Greetings from Spain.

[@jimf6427]

Is there a way to differentiate between 13 and 17 year cicadas? or do they all look the same?

[@Createme99]

I think our conscious way of thinking sometimes clouds our idea of how animals "think". For example, why assume they "count" at all? It could be all subconscious where the insect doesn't HAVE to think about it or count

[@FranciscoSilva-mc3mx]

Amazing

[@Frownbrows]

My knowledge on Cicadas is very limited, but I wonder if there are external cues which forced them to emerge. Seems obvious, but I am observing Cicadas in India too emerging and flooging the trees in big numbers. Cicadas emerged in USA, India and probably elsewhere in the world. I wonder if the external cues put them into some sort of synchrony.

[@Brydav_Massbear]

Oh, shoot. I don’t live in Illinois. Now I may never be able to experience that once-in-a-lifetime experience.

[@MalaMi........]

it's terrible and disgusting. They destroyed a tree in front of my house. The tree doctor took a lot of money from us, but finally gave up because he didn't know why the tree was withering and suffering. This year I found out. They destroyed the tree by first laying eggs on thin twigs, and the rest was done under the tree by larvae that ruthlessly eat the tree's roots in long time (13 or 17 years) . Terrible !

[@CThomas-wg4gc]

This historically has been every 7 years…DC is very familiar with cicadas.

[@alterego7739]

They might look around or watch the news and say nevermind

[@Lousasshoul]

Do they die after they come up ? Or do they go back underground to have the babies? So weird

[@srdgjkhvdfhsedfkjd-x5m]

What's equally strange is how this coincided with the 2024 Solar Eclipse.............

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

solar eclipses happen all the time. there’s just usually no land under their shadow

[@miratoko8524]

Yesterday it camed in upsc exam it's an insect and I only know in my native language it's called "YAYA

[@JoshJordison]

“Just eight weeks,” that noise for eight weeks is miserable.

[@phillynch4971]

I have a trip booked to Chicago area for June. I'm kind of concerned. Should I cancel?

[@foreverkyle2266]

I love their noise!

[@DRFishsticks221]

I can live with that noise I’ve heard it for so much that I’m basically used to it at this point

[@luivalentino8520]

Yes they are Very Loud and it can get extremely annoying Very Quick!

[@OntarioFreshwaterFishing]

Every year. It’s nothing new, they are around every single summer and have been for my entire 30 years on this planet. I don’t understand what the big deal is.

[@treefarm3288]

There were thousands in my school yard in Pennsylvania in 1953. But they were incorrectly called '17 year locusts.'

[@lightbox617]

Another part of why they are unique is that they they are a great food supply for birds, they are completely harmless to people and trees and they are absolutely beautiful creatures.

[@DickVanWrinkle]

They are actually not harmless to trees, especially young trees. They feed on the fluid in the xylem of woody plants and can disrupt or even kill small trees

[@Ben-f1j]

It’s like the plague out here

[@Jasper-123n3nCn]

I have a couple as a pet THEYRE doing well

[@Red-Red-Red-Red]

0:10 - Nice background photo of Shakti Kapoor there!

[@Frownbrows]

Haha, it's John Lennon 🥸

[@Red-Red-Red-Red]

@@Frownbrows google Shakti Kapoor

[@Frownbrows]

@@Red-Red-Red-Red I know Shakti Kapoor 😏. I am from India.

[@KowalskiStyL]

Well im in north central Illinois, nothing yet.

[@endor8witch]

i think they count through the cycle of the seasons

[@patrickwebb6245]

Is this a global emergence? Will it be emulated in Australia’s cicada season?

[@Em0killer13]

Professor emeritus? The trigger isn't the temperature my dear.

[@OUTDOORSJM]

happens every year in NZ

[@napalmholocaust9093]

They are not bad or as loud as the large katydids, just more of the cicadas. You don't even know wtf is making the katydid sound, if it is mechanical or organic till you go outside and the sound seems to come from all directions.

[@niteshades_promise]

katydids arent that loud n sound way different.🍻

[@George-xb5ey]

The cicadas here in Greece make me so happy every summer

[@samkauffman53]

A lot of those clips were not periodical cicadas. All seven species of periodical cicadas are orange and black with red eyes.

[@ANDROLOMA]

Better a flood of cicadas than a centipede stampede. 😀

[@philg4116]

Cicada events are terrifying because thugs can show up and force you to crunch down on them with your molars, one thug holding you from behind, a second thug forcing your jaw open, and the third placing the cicada between top and bottom molars. Then second thug closes your jaw and crushed cicada juices squirt out and down your throat. These juices contain compounds that cause madness and destroy the brain.

[@patreekotime4578]

This video is somewhat misleading. A group of cicadas will emerge basically every year. There are cicadas that spend shorter times underground, from 2 to 5 years and these are given the misnomer "annual cicadas". The ones that emerge 13 or 17 years are the "periodic cicadas"... but really they are ALL periodic. And most years will see several different broods of different species emerge. The unique thing about this year is the emergence of these *specific* broods.

[@lajoy8]

Yeah but the cicadas this season are attempting to take over my pear tree. I don’t want them to lay eggs on the branches and tunnel underneath this particular tree because it is healthier this year and starting to bear fruit 😢