News! a Brood XIX straggler has emerged in Georgia!
Periodical cicada Brood XIX (19) will emerge in the spring of 2024 in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The last time this brood emerged was in 2011.
Special note: Brood XIII will also emerge in 2024.
What, when, where, and why:
What:
Millions of these:
- Cicada insects with a 13-year life cycle.
- Some people call them “locusts” but they’re really cicadas.
- Which species: All four 13-year species:
- Magicicada neotredecim Marshall and Cooley, 2000. Range includes: AR, IL, IN, KS, KY MO, & OK.
- Magicicada tredecim (Walsh and Riley, 1868). Range includes: AL, AR, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN & VA
- Magicicada tredecassini Alexander and Moore, 1962
- Magicicada tredecula Alexander and Moore, 1962
- NOT the green ones that arrive annually.
Brood XIX has a 13-year cycle. It is interesting because it features both Magicicada neotredecim and Magicicada tredecim. These cicadas are very similar in song and appearance, but in areas where they overlap, Magicicada neotredecim alters its song to a higher pitch, which allows female cicadas to determine the species of their prospective mates. Visit Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) for more info on this behavior.
M. tredecim also have more orange on their abdomen than M. neotredecim.
When: Typically beginning in mid-May and ending in late June. These cicadas will begin to emerge approximately when the soil 8″ beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence.
Other tips: these cicadas will emerge after the trees have grown leaves, and, by my own observation, around the same time Iris flowers bloom.
Where:
Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) has the most up to date maps.
- Alabama counties: Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Choctaw, Clarke, Crenshaw, Elmore, Etowah, Greene, Lawrence, Limestone, Lowndes, Monroe, Montgomery, Russell, Sumter, Tallapoosa, Wilcox
- Arkansas counties: Boone, Futon, Howard, Izard, Lawrence, Marion, Montgomery, Pike, Scott, Searcy, Sevier, Sharp, Washington, Yell
- Georgia counties: Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Columbia, Elbert, Greene, Harris, Houston, Jasper, McDuffie, Monroe, Muscogee, Oconee, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Richmond, Stephens, Taliaferro, Troup, Waren, Wilkes
- Illinois counties: Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Cumberland, De Witt, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hancock, Iroquois, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Massac, Moultrie, Pike, Pope, Saline, Shelby, Vermillion, Washington, Williamson
- Indiana counties: Posey
- Kentucky counties: Allen, Caldwell, Christian, Trigg
- Louisiana parishes: Caddo, Claiborne, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Washington, Webster. Parish information comes from older literature, and might not be as accurate as recent information.
- Maryland counties: St Marys
- Missouri counties: Adair, Boone, Callaway, Carter, Clark, Cooper, Dent, iron, Jackson, Knox, Louis, Lincoln, Macon, Maries, Marion, Montgomery, Morgan, Oregon, Osage, Pettis, Phelps, Ralls, Reynolds, St. Carles, St Francois, St Louis
- Mississippi counties: Kemper, Newton
- North Carolina counties: Buncombe, Cabarrus, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Gaston, Guilford, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Randolph, Rowan, Stanly, Union
- Oklahoma counties: McCurtain
- South Carolina counties: Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Lancaster, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Union, York
- Tennessee counties: Blount, Cheatham, Clay, Davidson, Grundy, Hamilton, Jackson, Loudon, Macon, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Putnam, Rutherford, Sequatchie, Smith, Stewart, Summer
- Virginia counties: Caroline, Glouchester, Halifax, James City, King and Queen, King William, Middlesex, New Kent, York
More Location Tips:
- County data is from the Cicada Central Periodical Cicada Record Database.
- Not sure? Ask someone in your community who lived there 17 years ago.
Why: Why do they stay underground for 13-years? The prevailing research suggests they’ve evolved a long, 13-year lifecycle to avoid predators that can sync up with their lifecycle & emergence. Why are there so many?! Research suggests that their huge numbers allow them to overwhelm predators, so enough of them will live on to breed and perpetuate the brood.
More facts and fun:
- Use the correct image when talking about these cicadas.
- Use the Periodical Cicada Emergence Checklist for the Maximum Magicicada Experience.
- All cicada questions that are frequently asked.
- A video to help you tell the difference between the species.
- The 17 Most Interesting Periodical cicada facts.
1907 Map from Marlatt, C.L.. 1907. The periodical cicada. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology.
See a modern map, or the Live Map from the Cicada Safari app.
I hear a cicada or two…I am on the border of St. Francois county, in Washington county mo. Would this be brood 19 early birds?
Correct Cindy! Brood XIX/19.
Some Brood XIX “stragglers” emerged early in 2020. See where in the map below:
Sangamon County (Springfield) IL is not listed as a Brood XIX area, but it is highlighted in the 2020 stragglers map.
Brood XIX in South Gifford, MO June 2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8ol2TF9-qo
@Tom,
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Hi! Didn’t see Greenwood, SC on the list for Brood XIX but we absolutely got them in 2011! <3 Can't wait to see them again.
They were definitely in Greenwood. Unlike you, I am not looking forward to their reemergence next year. They were everywhere and the noise was incredible. Sounded like car alarms going off nonstop.
Confirming emergents in Morgan County, AL.
They are emerging by the hundreds today in Channahon IL. 60410. I wasn’t expecting any this year , but I wasn’t really keeping track. We are on the edge of will and grundy county
We have had hundreds of these little creatures come up around our front porch in the past week or so. I have had to sweep them up and gather them with a shovel just to clear a path to get out of the house without stepping on them. Those that are not in the way we leave alone. We have 2 puppies who have also been helping :-/
Hey David, can you share approximately where you’re located? Are there any good camping places? I really want to go camp somewhere this weekend where I can see the brood emerging :).
“What, when, where, and why:”
No “why” is provided for early emergence Brood 19
@Jon, thanks. I’ve added that paragraph to the page.