Soon to be ringing throughout the east coast’s ears, between May and continuing to late June, more cicadas are to come. In the summer of 2020, along with the Pandemic, Cicadas were the talk of the nation. So why will millions of the bugs emerge once again?

Cicadas are referenced as broods, which essentially just designates what year that cicadas emerge from the ground. There are 12 sects of 17-year cicadas, and three sects of 13-year, as well as annual cicadas.

Less than four years ago, we saw broods IX and X, and similarly we will see brood XIX and XIII. These groups of cicadas are not the usual annual cicadas; they appear every 17 years to mate and bury eggs, so they are different from the cicadas seen in 2020. While both appear at the same time, they both are on different schedules.

When asked about how she felt during the last emergence of cicadas in 2020, Charley Farr, a Briar Woods student said “I hated the bugs, they were everywhere, it was actually awful.”

Although some may find them annoying, the emergence of these cicadas could end up more interesting than the last, at least for those interested in insects. It is not highly unusual for broods to sync in time, however, what makes things different this year is the overlapping homes of the humming creatures, which could lead to crossing over of the two broods and other ecological differences.

Robert Kline, a Briar Woods Biology teacher, when asked about the importance of instances like this said “It could disrupt the ecological niche that already exists, by either increasing the foods predators have access for, or increasing the competition for other species of insect, with many more cicadas being around.”

Whether you like them or not, cicadas will be a common sight this summer across the East, possibly adding unprecedented changes into the ecosystem.