While the great cicada emergence of 2024 brought a historic convergence of cicada broods, what will happen in 2025?
Turns out, another "double brood" could be on the horizon. But what can you expect and where?
Here's what to know:
Brood XIV is slated to emerge this year in parts of the U.S. and is considered "among the largest of all 17-year periodical cicada broods."
A second brood known as Brood I wasn't expected to fully emerge until 2029, but cicada expert Dr. John Cooley with the University of Connecticut told the Farmers' Almanac some cicadas from Brood I may mistakenly emerge this year. It's part of a theory that indicates certain broods are prone to "repeated instances of 'acceleration' or emergence one- or four-years ahead of schedule."
Brood XIV is the second largest periodical cicada brood after Brood XIX, which made for massive amounts of cicadas in the Chicago area in 2024.
While 2024's emergence centered on Illinois, it appears much of the Midwest will catch a break in 2025 when it comes to periodical cicadas.
Brood XIV is known as the "Great(er) Eastern Brood." Broods XIV and XIX share a boundary in many areas and will co-emerge eventually, but not until 2076.
Brood XIV has been reported in parts of Indiana and Ohio, but largely centers on the East Coast.
See a full map here.
Similar, but smaller in numbers to Brood XIV, Brood I is found largely in the Shenandoah Valley near the Blue Ridge Mountains.
In 2024, the emergence started earlier than average in Illinois due in large part warmer temperatures. It's not clear if 2025's emergence will see a similar time frame.
Timing depends on soil temperature, mulch and turf grass, which all impact cicadas differently. For example, the soil is warmer near pavement, so cicadas in the those spots are expected to emerge quicker.
Cicadas typically emerge as the ground begins to warm in the spring and early summer.
Cicadas have a lifespan of approximately four weeks and typically emerge in mid-to-late May and into June, as the soil temperatures warm in the spring and early summer.
"Research shows that the particular night of the periodical cicadas' emergence depends on soil temperature," the post read. "Cicada juveniles, or nymphs, emerge after a rainstorm when the soil temperature at 8 inches in depth exceeds approximately 64°F."
Most emergences last through mid-June, though some could linger longer.
Generally, cicadas are harmless, experts say. They don't bite, and they don't have stingers, and they're beneficial to the environment.
"Periodical cicadas are among the most unusual of insects, with long life cycles, infrequent, periodic mass emergences, striking appearance, and noisy behaviors," according to the University of Connecticut. "Periodical cicada emergences are notable not only because they involve large numbers of insects, but because those insects are striking in appearance, loud, and extremely active... but only for a brief period."
There are seven species of periodical cicadas, some with 13-year life cycles and other with 17-year cycles. The 17-year species are typically found in more northern and eastern regions, while the 13-year species are generally more southern and midwestern.
In addition to periodical cicadas, which begin to emerge once the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees, "dog day" cicadas emerge from the soil "during the heat of the summer, or the dog days of summer."
Illinois' annual cicadas, for example, typically emerge in July, August and September, an article from the University of Illinois Extension said.
What do cicadas eat?
According to Orkin, cicadas have "piercing/sucking mouthparts (similar to a mosquito) they use to obtain their nourishment from below ground roots and young twigs." But what they eat will depend on their age.
Adult cicadas "feed on plant fluids from the young twigs of trees and woody shrubs," Orkin reported.
Noise
Although mostly harmless, the noise of the insects can be disruptive, the University of Illinois reported.
Male cicadas can reach decibels similar to a lawn mower or passing jet, and their numbers will be large, but their life cycle is short, at just four to six weeks.
In a year of full emergence, when the bugs surface, they quickly begin mating, which is often met with the noise most associate with cicadas.
"Once those cicadas are out of the ground, it's all about romance," Mike Raupp, Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Maryland, previously said.
Benefits of cicadas
As for the benefits of cicadas, the EPA notes that they:
Life cycle
"During the final molt of their exoskeleton, immature cicadas (i.e., nymphs) construct a tunnel through which they emerge from the ground. They will then molt into adults, leaving the nymphal exoskeleton behind, often attached to a tree," the EPA states. "The adults climb into trees and shrubs and mate. Females deposit their eggs onto small twigs (pencil diameter to ½ inch). The nymphs will hatch from these eggs after 6 weeks and fall to the ground. They will then burrow into the soil and begin feeding on roots of trees and shrubs to restart the cicada lifecycle."
Can pets eat cicadas?
According to Allen Lawrance, associate curator of entomology at Petty Notebaert Nature Museum, cicadas are going to be viewed as a tasty treat to many animals.
"As far as insects go, they're very large and meaty. They have a lot of nutrients there. That's a big meal just from catching one insect," Lawrance told NBC Chicago last year.
Lawrence added that squirrels, birds, snakes and dogs may all be drawn to the sight of a cicada.
But are they safe for your dog to eat?
"Yes, they are non-toxic, so they are safe for dogs to eat. However, you may need to be careful and make sure your dog doesn't eat too many too quickly and they get an upset stomach," Lawrance said.
may be coming to an end, the "summer of cicadas" is far from over, and the next round might look a little different.
That's because another emergence is on the horizon.
The season started with the emergence of not one but two major periodical cicada broods, which haven't emerged simultaneously in more than 220 years.
But while the two periodical cicada broods emerge every 13 or 17 years, there's also an annual cicada that emerges every summer: Illinois' annual "dog day" cicadas.
"Not only do we get the cicadas every 17 years," said Allen Lawrance, associate curator of entomology at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago. "We do get some every single year. Those are our annual cicadas. Those are larger and green."
There are other differences between Illinois' periodical cicadas and annual cicadas, Lawrance said.
"Periodical cicadas are smaller than our annual cicadas," Lawrance said. "You can see their bodies are a little bit thinner, a little bit more cylindrical shaped."
Lawrance noted that annual cicadas, which emerge in Illinois every summer, are more "robust," and typically louder than periodical ones. But there's power in numbers, Lawrance said.
"[Periodical cicadas] are not as loud individually, but because there's so many more of them, their song overall is louder," Lawrance said, with billions periodicals from Broods XIII and XIX expected in Illinois.
Illinois' annual cicadas can be expected to emerge in July, August and September, an article from the University of Illinois Extension said.
"It typically takes 2 to 5 years to complete their development and they have overlapping generations and are not synchronized," the article said. "On the other hand, periodical cicadas take 13 or 17 years to complete their development from egg to adult, and they emerge in mass in the spring."
While periodical cicadas begin to emerge once the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees, "dog day" cicadas emerge from the soil "during the heat of the summer, or the dog days of summer," the article explained.
The periodical cicadas will be gone by the time the annual ones emerge, Lawrance said. Still, in Illinois, this spring and summer may feel like the season of the cicada.
"There's really no escaping them," Lawrance said, especially on and around trees, where "piles" of cicada shells are expected after the insects have feasted on fluid from branches and woody shrubs.
"You're just going to see them sort of flying around, hanging out on trees," Lawrance said. "And you're going to hear them wherever you go."
Beyond the dog day cicadas, there's also still the matter of the periodical cicadas' eggs.
The hatching takes place between six and 10 weeks after eggs are laid and while it is rare to catch a glimpse of the moment, Kritsky said when conditions are right, the moment could be viewable in the Chicago area.
"If the sun is at the right angle, people have actually seen the nymphs falling to the ground," Kritsky said, noting the sun would need to be behind the tree where the eggs are hatching, "illuminating them as they drop."
Trees in areas that saw large emergences could have as many as 40,000 eggs waiting to hatch, he added.