An ‘annoying’ alien-like insect is set to emerge from a 17-year slumber and wreak havoc across multiple US states this year, scientists have warned.
Billions of ‘Brood XIV’ cicadas are currently tunneling out of their underground homes ready to swarm across 13 states by the spring.
A huge alien-like insect is set to emerge from a 17-year slumber and wreak havoc across multiple US states this year, scientists have warned.
(Pictured: the Brood XIV Cicada) ‘Although to some, the noise is annoying, they pose no danger to humans or pets.
Once they emerge, cicadas are active for between four to six weeks before they vanish just as quickly as they came.
Scientists have warned that this year, an “annoying” alien-like insect that has lain dormant for 17 years is about to cause havoc in several US states.
In preparation for their springtime swarm across 13 states, billions of “Brood XIV” cicadas are currently tunneling out of their underground homes.
This year, New York, Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia are slated to be hit by the eerie red-eyed insects.
Although the exact time of their emergence is unpredictable, the bugs usually begin to emerge when the ground reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit, which is typically between April and June in most places.
Male cicadas create mayhem by emitting a high-pitched buzzing sound that is as loud as a lawnmower and is intended to attract females.
Americans complained to the police about the bugs’ loudness last year. After receiving so many calls, the South Carolina Newberry County Sheriff’s Office released a statement to reassure locals about the animals.
“The sheriff’s office received multiple calls regarding a sound in the air that resembles a siren, a whine, or a roar,” the office wrote in April.
“I hear cicadas right now.”. A superfamily of insects known as cicadas makes an appearance every spring. After spending 13–17 years underground, the nymphs are finally hatching this time.
Scientists have warned that a massive insect that resembles an alien is about to awaken from a 17-year hibernation and cause chaos in several US states this year. The Brood XIV Cicada is shown in the picture.
As they prepare to swarm across 13 states in eastern and central America, billions of “Brood XIV” cicadas are currently tunneling out of their underground homes.
This year, a massive insect that resembles an alien is expected to awaken from a 17-year hibernation and cause chaos in several US states, according to scientists. The Brood XIV Cicada is shown in the picture.
“They don’t hurt people or animals, even though some people find the noise annoying.”. Regretfully, it’s the sounds of nature. “…
Periodic cicadas do contribute to the environment when they eventually come out after more than ten years underground, where they consume the fluids from tree roots.
The US Environmental Protection Agency stated that “cicadas are a valuable food source for birds and other predators,” and that the burrows that young “nymphs” dig to feed on sap “aerate lawns and improve water filtration to the ground.”.
Unlike annual cicadas, which are greenish-brown and appear in smaller numbers each year, periodic cicadas are black with red eyes and arrive in large numbers.
Periodical cicad broods only appear every 13 or 17 years. According to the University of Connecticut, the invasion this year, known as Brood XIV or Brood 14, is the second-largest type of periodical cicada, measuring about two inches in length.
Cicadas are active for four to six weeks after emerging, and then they disappear as swiftly as they appeared. They are quite docile despite their noisy disposition.
All they do is scale trees and urinate. “That’s the extent of the harm they cause,” Georgia Tech College of Engineering professor Saad Bhamla told The Hill.
Even their urine is harmless because it is nearly entirely water, unlike that of mammals. It’s not like our human urine, so don’t worry. “It’s just water, it’s not disgusting,” Bhamla remarked.
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Eventually, after spending over ten years underground consuming the fluids of tree roots, periodic cicadas do contribute to the environment.
The cicada’s ability to harden its exoskeletons—which takes roughly five days—and shed its old exterior in order to start flying is one of the things that makes it so fascinating.
The cicada ‘apocalypse’, which occurred last year when a trillion of the red-eyed insects infested the country, will not be as severe this year.
In over a dozen states, two distinct cicada broods appeared for the first time since the 19th century, mated, and laid millions more eggs.
Professor Gene Kritsky, a specialist in cicadas and entomology at Mount St. “The dual emergence is a one in two or three lifetime event,” Joseph University told DailyMail . com at the time.
“These broods will emerge together for the first time since 1803, though this occurs 12 times every 221 years.”. “.”.
Cicadas are known to exist in over 3,000 species, and they form 15 major ‘broods’ in various geographical locations.
These animals’ capacity to harden their exoskeletons—a process that takes roughly five days—and then shed them to begin flying is what makes them so fascinating.