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Videos show where cicadas have already emerged in the U.S.
Cicadas are returning by the trillions in the U.S. this year – a synchronized emergence that begins when the dirt reaches a precise 64 degrees. The buzzing bugs have already come out in some places – here’s where.
Where will cicadas emerge in 2024?
Two cicada broods are emerging at the same time this year, meaning the U.S. will see more cicadas than usual.
Brood XIX, which comes out every 13 years, will emerge in the Southeast in Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
Brood XIII, which comes out every 17 years, will be seen in the midwest, primarily Illinois and Iowa.
Cicadas live underground for most of their lives, and at the end of their 13 or 17-year cycles, they emerge, fly into the trees, molt, mate and then die. Their babies then fall onto the ground and burry themselves into the dirt while they await their next emergence.
They only come out at the end of their cycle, when the dirt reaches 64 degrees. This is expected to happen in May or June in most places, according to Ken Johnson, a horticulture educator at the University of Illinois. But some states warm up faster than others – and they’ve already seen cicadas emerging.
Videos show where cicadas have already emerged
Near the Georgia-South Carolina border on April 25, CBS News National Correspondent Dave Malkoff found thousands of cicadas filling the air with their signature, loud buzzing sound. Some were seen molting, or shedding their skin, on a tree trunk.
“They take a while to turn into their full adult bodies,” Malkoff said, holding a cicada. “They have to dry out and then they get their wings.”
A small section of Illinois will see both Brood XIX and Brood XIII converge this year. In Champaign, Illinois last week, CBS Chicago’s Maddie Weirus went on the hunt for nymphs – or baby cicadas – with University of Illinois entomologist Katie Dana. They dug in the dirt and were able to collect samples of small cicadas.
In some of the southern states expected to get cicadas, people have reported their emergence.
Marie Gruss Sherr captured several videos of cicadas in Durham, North Carolina. Most of them were sitting in plants.
Cicadas are often confused with locusts, which eat plants. Cicadas instead get their nutrients from small branches. Most trees, however, will remain unharmed.
In Georgia near Lake Oconee, one cicada spotter captured the droning noise the bugs emit when they emerge.
Male cicadas let out a loud humming sound to attract female cicadas, who will in turn flick their wings to signal they are available to mate.
Last week, the cicadas were so loud that confused residents in Newberry County, South Carolina actually called the sheriff’s department to ask why they heard a “noise in the air that sounds like a siren, or a whine, or a roar.” The department assured residents it was just male cicadas trying to mate.
How long do cicadas live?
After they’ve emerged from their 13 or 17-year slumber underground, cicadas have a relatively short lifespan. About five days after they emerge, they start to mate, with the females laying their eggs in woody plants, using their ovipositor, or egg-laying organ. They inject about 10-20 eggs into branches and can around 500 to 600 eggs in a season, according to Johnson.
The eggs hatch about six weeks after they’re laid, but their parents die shortly after the mating process, lasting only about a month above ground.
President Biden approved the mobilization of another 500 active-duty troops to North Carolina to assist in the recovery efforts after the deadly and devastating Hurricane Helene.
“With a total of 1,500 troops now supplementing a robust on-the-ground effort – including more than 6,100 National Guardsmen and more than 7,000 Federal personnel – the Biden-Harris Administration is mobilizing all relevant resources to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding,” the White House said in a statement Sunday.
Mr. Biden previously announced that the federal government would cover “100%” of costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures in North Carolina for six months. The Biden administration has also released more than $137 million in federal funds – including $100 million in transportation funds for North Carolina to begin rebuilding damaged roads and bridges.
Mike Stewart / AP
More than 800 people unable to return home are staying in lodging provided through FEMA, and 22 shelters are still housing nearly 1,000 people as mobile feeding operations continue to help survivors.
“My Administration is sparing no resource to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding,” Biden said. “We will continue working hand-in-hand with local and state leaders – regardless of political party and no matter how long it takes.”
Earlier Sunday, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tills called for more resources to bolster the relief effort and likened the damage to Hurricane Katrina’s mark on Louisiana in 2005.
“The scope of this storm is more like Katrina,” he told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan”. “It may look like a flood to the outside observer, but again, this is a landmass roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts, with damage distributed throughout. We have to get maximum resources on the ground immediately to finish rescue operations.”
Mr. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have all traveled to some of the impacted regions.
Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian mountains and killed more than 225 people across multiple states. That number includes 114 killed in North Carolina alone.
The White House said Mr. Biden has also been briefed on Hurricane Milton, which is forecast to make landfall in Florida’s Tampa Bay area as a major storm on Wednesday.
U.S. disaster relief chief blasts false claims about Helene response
Deanne Criswell, who leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said on Sunday that the recent false claims and conspiracy theories about the federal response to the storm are “demoralizing” aid workers.
“It’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” she said. “It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do. We have had the complete support of the state,” she said, referring to North Carolina.
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Republicans, led by Trump, have helped foster a frenzy of misinformation over the past week among the communities most devastated by Helene, promoting a number of false claims, including that Washington is intentionally withholding aid to people in Republican areas.
Trump accused FEMA of spending all its money to help immigrants who are in the United States illegally, while other critics assert that the government spends too much on Israel, Ukraine and other foreign countries.
Tillis, a Republican, on Sunday rejected that claim, telling “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that resources being used on immigration is “not yet … affecting the flow of resources to western North Carolina.”
Tillis said the stream of misinformation about relief efforts in North Carolina is a “distraction.”
“I believe that we have to stay focused on rescue operations, recovery operations, clearing operations, and we don’t need any of these distractions on the ground,” Tillis said. “It’s at the expense of hard-working first responders and people that are just trying to recover their lives.”
Mr. Biden said in a statement Sunday that his administration “will continue working hand-in-hand with local and state leaders –- regardless of political party and no matter how long it takes.”
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Biden sends more troops to North Carolina for continued Hurricane Helene response
Scene along Twin Cities Marathon: Bananas, Alan Page, pickle juice
Rep. Mike Turner says all “candidates need to deescalate” after Trump assassination attempts
Biden sends more troops to North Carolina for continued Hurricane Helene response
Scene along Twin Cities Marathon: Bananas, Alan Page, pickle juice