America's heartland and some surrounding states will be subject to a massive invasion by trillions of singing bugs in an event that hasn't taken place for at least 200 years.

According to reports, trillions of cicadas will be surfacing from the ground at the same time this year as two groups known as Brood XIX, or the "Great Southern Brood," and Brood XIII, known as the "Northern Illinois Brood". For at least 200 years these groups of cicadas emerged at different times, but this year they will emerge simultaneously creating swarms of trillions of flying signing bugs. Notably, there isn't an extensive overlap between the two groups, but some regions in the center of the US will be battling against more than double the number of cicadas.
David Althoff, a professor at Syracuse University's Department of Biology, told ABC News that residents used to the annual occurrence of cicadas will need to prepare for this year's emergence as it will be a "far cry from the annual occurrences". Furthermore, Brood XIX, the largest geographic extent of all periodical broods, only surfaces once every 13 years, while Brood XIII emerges every 17 years. The last time these two broods emerged from the ground at the same time was in 1803, and the next time they will emerge at the same time won't be until 221 years have passed.
"They really don't do anything to kind of harm humans," Althoff said. "I mean, it might be an annoyance, but people don't have to be afraid in terms of like getting bitten."
"This is a natural wonder of the world. Like there is no other organism, at least, that I know of in North America, that has this sheer amount of biomass," said Catherine Dana, an entomologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey, to ABC News





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