Prepare Your Ears For Millions Of Cicadas In Louisiana This Spring

Well folks, 2024 is shaping up to be a year full of surprises. This spring, two different broods of cicadas are emerging from the ground and this only happens every 221 years. Here’s what you need to know about the double emergence of cicadas in 2024.

2024 might as well be called the year of the cicadas.

Two different broods are going to rise up from the ground this year, Brood XIX (the 13-year cicadas) and Brood XIII (17-year cicadas).

Brood XIX is expected to emerge this spring for most of the south including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The last time these guys saw daylight was in 2011.

There are 3,390 types of cicadas across the globe, including 190 varieties in North America. They are commonly misidentified as locusts, but they are in fact completely different species.

The cicadas that live in the United States are unique in that they spend most of their lives underground.

These periodical cicadas emerge from the ground every 13 or 17 years. Even more fascinating, they all emerge simultaneously, like they planned it ahead of time. While it is a cool party trick, there’s actually a method to the madness. The idea is that if they all emerge from the ground at the same time, it would be intimidating for predators. Predators can’t possibly catch them all, ensuring a good number can survive to reproduce.

You’ve probably seen the exoskeletons on trees before. It’s one of the first things they do when they come top side. They’ll shed their exoskeletons and then start serenading until a female answers back.

Brood XII is expected to emerge in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. The last time this group emerged was 2007.

There are a few “lucky” states that might get a double whammy of cicadas.

Good luck, Indiana and Illinois.

So, when’s this going to happen?

Mark your calendars for mid-May and block it out through late June. The ground has to reach 64 degrees, so it’s a waiting game until that temperature is reached. Don’t worry, these things are so loud there’s no way you’ll miss it.

Why are they so loud?

They’re doing their best Marvin Gaye impression. Yep, the sounds we hear are males trying to attract females. Once they mate, the males will die and the females will go off to lay eggs in tree branches before eternally clocking out themselves. The eggs will hatch sometime between late July to early August when they’ll fall to the ground and burrow underground and that’s where they’ll stay for 13 (or 17) years.

The good news is, other than being extremely loud neighbors, cicadas pose no threat to humans or pets. They’re here for a good time, not a long time. Get yourself some earplugs and maybe plan a trip to the West Coast if you don't want to deal with these little flying maracas.