When will cicadas emerge in 2024? Brood XIX will soon be in Tennessee, here's when

For 13 long years a brood has been biding its time and growing, but soon they will be here.

Brood XIX cicadas have been dormant for the past 13 years, but will soon be "screaming" their love across Tennessee. The brood is set to emerge around mid-May 2024 in Tennessee and be around for a month as the insects try to find mates before hibernating once again.

But this emergence also has a special twist.

This year marks the first time in 221 that two broods of periodical cicadas will emerge in the same year — the 17-year Brood XIII and the 13-year Brood XIX, The Great Southern Brood that will be emerging around the state. But luckily, we won't have to worry about any overlap here in Tennessee.

Will there be cicadas in Tennessee in 2024?

Not all of Tennessee will have to deal with the cicadas like it does with the 17-year periodical cicadas, according to the University of Tennessee Extension. Cicadamania.com says the following Tennessee counties are expected to see cicadas this year: Blount, Cheatham, Clay, Davidson, Grundy, Hamilton, Jackson, Loudon, Macon, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Putnam, Rutherford, Sequatchie, Smith, Stewart and Summer.

When are cicadas expected to emerge 2024?

Cicadas are expected to start emerging in multiple counties around the state starting mid-May and be around until mid-June. The timing of the emergence of Brood XIX all depends on the weather though.

The cicadas typically begin to emerge when the soil eight inches beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees.

How long is a cicada's life span?

The lifespan of cicadas is long... if you count the years spent in the ground.

Female cicadas lay eggs in trees. When they hatch, they drop to the ground and begin burrowing until they are about eight feet underground. And there they will stay for either 13 or 17 years, depending on which brood they are in, and then tunnel their way to the surface.

Where will Brood XIX cicadas emerge in the US?

Brood XIX has the largest range of all the periodical cicada broods. Besides Tennessee, the cicadas will appear in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Vermont.

Annual and periodical cicadas? What's the difference?

Cicadas aren't a rare thing and show up every year, but some years there are a lot more of them. And a lot louder.

You'll see hear annual cicadas on most summer nights in the South. The insects have green bodies and black eyes and are most active during the evening and nighttime hours.

Periodical cicadas, which are the ones emerging in just a few short months, have life cycles of either 13 or 17 years and come out in large groups called broods. Counties throughout Middle Tennessee and in a handful of others will see the 13-year brood, while most of the state gets to hear the tones of the cicadas every 17 years. Periodical cicadas have red eyes.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Will cicadas be in Tennessee in 2024? When Brood XIX will emerge