The nights in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia are about to get noisy — and perhaps a little spooky. The Brood IX cicadas are emerging by the millions in those states, and they have a unique alien-like wail, according to Virginia Tech’s Department of Entomology.
At least, they’re not murder hornets. And at least, they’re not actual aliens.
These periodical cicadas spent the last 17 years developing underground, according to Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension. That cycle can last 13 or 17 years, and the insects generally emerge in early May before fading in July.
“Communities and farms with large numbers of cicadas emerging at once may have a substantial noise issue,” entomologist Eric Day told the Virginia Tech entomology department’s website. “Hopefully, any annoyance at the disturbance is tempered by just how infrequent — and amazing — this event is.”
There is some downside that goes beyond the noise, which is a mating call for male cicadas to attract females. The cicadas’ egg-laying habits can also prove problematic for orchards, vineyards and ornamental trees. The number of these cicadas can be overwhelming, with as many as 1.5 million cicadas emerging per acre, per Virginia Tech.
Most cicadas come annually, and it’s unclear why, exactly, these periodical cicadas come in wave. That 13- or 17-year “cycle is one of the great mysteries of the insect world. Research and mathematical modeling suggest that the length of these brood cycles could be attributed to predatory avoidance,” according to Virginia Tech.
Considering cicadas can make as much noise as a motorcycle and there might be enough cicadas in a give space to essentially blot out the moon, this seems like yet another example of 2020 bringing us a surreal event.
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