They’re ugly and ooky, and their beady red eyes are spooky. Yep, they’re coming. Thirteen-year Brood XIX cicadas will be digging themselves out of the earth in Tennessee this spring to fill the air with their incessant chirping.
Dormant for the last 13 years, the only reason cicadas come out of the earth is to mate. The screeching is the sound that the males make to get their females’ attention. Once they mate, the females cut into tree branches, lay eggs and then die. Once the babies are born, they drop into the ground and disappear for another 13 years.
The brood of cicadas coming out in 2024 are known as periodical cicadas. There is a 17-year brood of cicadas expected in 2025. This type of cicada arrives in the millions. Per acre. Cicadas are defined by brood numbers based on the different years in which they emerge. These two broods are expected to have heavy concentrations in Middle and West Tennessee.
“The adults live about six weeks, so you can expect them to be gone by the end of June,” said Dr. Jerome Grant, professor of biological control and integrated pest management with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, in an article by the Municipal League. “You get a few numbers in early May and few in late June, but you may have a four-week period with high numbers in between.”