Cicadas are out in Alabama: Latest on Brood XIX sightings; see full 2024 US emergence map
If you're in Alabama, you've probably already seen the cicadas.
Alabama is one of the 17 states where the trillions of cicadas across two separate broods are emerging in the Midwest and Southeast this year. Alabama is getting a visit from the 13-year Brood XIX cicadas, which have been waiting underground for the right conditions to emerge, feed, mate and die, when the next generation will then head underground to start the cycle all over again.
Brood XIX cicadas have already been spotted above ground in Alabama, with many more on the way. Here's what you should know.
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When are cicadas emerging in Alabama?
According to Cicada Mania, the insects begin to emerge when the soil 8 inches underground reaches 64 degrees, and are often triggered by a warm rain.
Emergence dates may vary around the country, but Brood XIX has already been spotted in Alabama and across the Southeast, and is expected to emerge more broadly around the eastern U.S. by mid-May.
Which cicada brood is in Alabama?
Arkansas will only see one of the broods emerging this year: Brood XIX. The brood last emerged in 2011, and after this year, is set to emerge again in 2037.
Besides Alabama, Brood XIX will also be found this year in the following states: Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Where have cicadas been reported in Alabama?
Brood XIX cicadas have already been spotted around Alabama, with hundreds of sightings reported to Cicada Safari, a cicada tracking app by Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
They have been spotted around Birmingham, Montgomery and Huntsville, near Scottsboro and Gadsden along the Alabama-Georgia border, and near Florence and Sheffield in northwest Alabama.
The Cicada Safari app allows users to submit pictures and video of cicadas in their area, which builds an interactive map tracking the species as they emerge this year.
So far, Cicada Safari users have seen Brood XIX in states including Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri.
2024 cicada map: Check out where Broods XIII, XIX projected to emerge
The two cicada broods will emerge in a combined 17 states across the Southeast and Midwest, with Illinois and Iowa expected to see both.
What's so special about the two broods coming out at the same time?
Trillions of Brood XIX and Brood XIII periodical cicadas are emerging this year to stay above ground for a few weeks, where they will eat, mate and die, and new offspring will move underground to wait for another 13 or 17 years.
While both annual and periodical cicadas come out in various areas every year, it is rare for two different broods to emerge at the same time.
Brood XIII (13) has a 17-year life cycle, and last emerged in 2007. Like the other brood, they will begin to emerge in their area once the soil 8 inches underground reaches 64 degrees, and are also often triggered by a warm rain. They will be found in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Broods XIX and XIII last emerged together 221 years ago in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was president and there were only 17 states in the Union. After this year, they are not expected to emerge again at the same time until 2245.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cicadas out in Alabama: Latest sightings of Brood XIX; full US map
