When Will the Cicadapocalypse Come to an End in the United States?

If you live in one of the states in America impacted by the emergence of a rare double brood of trillions of cicadas, chances are you’re wondering when these noisy insects will be leaving.

While there are over 3,000 species of cicadas, they are most commonly divided into two groups: annual and periodical. The cicadas that have been making the news are periodical cicadas, which are further divided into broods. These broods emerge from underground after a period of 13 or 17 years. This year will see both a 13-year brood, Brood XIX, and a 17-year brood, Brood XIII, emerge from the ground at the same time, which is a fairly rare occurrence. The last time a 13 and 17-year-old brood emerged at the same time was in 2015. However, the last time the specific Broox XIX and Brood XIII emerged at the same time was way back in 1803.

Although it’s not very rare for 13 and 17-year broods to emerge simultaneously, Brood XIX is the largest of all periodical broods and will now be combined with another brood. Needless to say, the United States is getting a lot of cicadas this year, with some estimates predicting trillions of cicadas to emerge, which translates to about 1.5 million cicadas per acre. The states that will see the most cicadas include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Virginia. Meanwhile, cicadas are among the loudest insects in the world, emitting a buzzing sound that can range from 80 to 100 decibels.

For those who do not enjoy insects or the sounds of millions of cicadas buzzing in their backyards, here’s when you can expect the cicadas to leave.

How long are the cicadas here for?

The good thing about cicadas is that they don’t linger long above ground. Cicadas have a very long life span, with some living as long as 17 years. However, the majority of their lives are spent underground because, once they emerge, they mate, the females lay eggs, and then they die within a few weeks of completing their life cycle. As a result, the cicadas will only be around for a few weeks. Due to differences in temperature, though, cicadas have been emerging at different times in different states.

States like Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, and Wisconsin have already seen the cicadas emerge, meaning they will likely be gone by mid-June. For states where the cicadas made a slightly later appearance, they could remain until late June or even July. However, by the end of July, almost all of the cicadas should have fulfilled their life cycle and died off.