Do you remember stepping outside your door and being hit with a sound that produces a din that can overpower ringing telephones, lawn mowers and power tools? This distinctive noise is the mating call of the cicada or commonly known as “locust”. A single male’s shrill courtship call can reach 90 decibels which is equivalent to a blender. You may recognize them as the common red-eyed, shrimp-sized insects that don’t bite or sting but make a helluva lot of noise. The annual or dog-day cicadas that appear every summer are common around the world. However, there is a special kind of periodical cicadas which are only found in the eastern half of North America and are considered among the longest-lived insects in the world. Well, anyone living in parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana better be prepared for a massive re-emergence of billions of the Brood XIII. It sounds kind of like a horror flick, doesn’t it. But it’s not.

According to an Associated Press article by Tara Burghart, it’s the anticipated emergence of these weird little insects who after the last 17 years have lived underground. As nymphs burrowing underground, cicadas suck sap from tree roots until they are ready to burst from the ground. Once they do decide the time is right, they emerge ‘en masse’ in a highly synchronized manner and quickly climb the nearest vertical surface to molt and unroll their wings. In some heavily wooded areas, as many as 1 1/2 million cicadas per acre will climb on to trees. According to Daniel Summers, an entomologist at the Field Museum, “It’s one of the greatest insect emergences on Earth”.

As reported by Iowa State Entomology, “the cicada males sing by vibrating two shell-like drums located along the sides of the abdomen. Strong muscles vibrate the drum membranes several times per second. The resulting high-pitched, rapid clicks are resonated through air sacs and other structures to control sound volume and quality. The upward angles of the wings form a megaphone-like chamber that further controls the sound”.

This emergence, along with its accompanied noisy arrival, has garnered so much concern that a music event north of Chicago rescheduled due to the expected competition from the insects. Outdoor weddings aren’t advised, and an ice sculpture company in Illinois has turned down several outdoor parties because the last time one of the companies had a party outdoors during the emergence of these bugs, their ice sculpture was attacked and covered by them. The uninvited little varmints turned the beautiful ice sculpture into a big black ugly mass of bugs.

The last emergence of these periodical cicadas was in 2004, when Brood X emerged after 17 years underground in parts of 15 Eastern states. And, in Iowa in 1997, there was an emergence of Brood III, that according to the Iowa State Entomology group watching these insects magically appear stated that “it is the thrill of a lifetime.” Biologists predict this latest emergence will happen sometime between now and June 1st. So, if you happen to be in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan or Indiana, look out for Brood XIII!