Billions of cicadas arising sound like 1950s 'science fiction movie'
A double-brood emergence of 13- and 17-year cicadas is a rare phenomenon that hasn't been documented in centuries. Before now, the last time it occurred was in 1803, and it will be another 221 years before it takes place again.
It's not often you get two different hatches of cicadas arising from below the ground at the same time, but that is what is occurring now in the U.S.
In fact, it's so rare that it has been 221 years since the last time the world was treated to an emergence from a double brood of the noisy bugs.
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The movement from the cicadas above ground has been so loud that some South Carolina residents have called the police to complain about the sounds.
"This is just the start, because when they get cooking it sounds like a science fiction movie from the '50s. It goes up and down, like this little noise, and they get cooking," said Dennis Higgins, a cicadas enthusiast based in Illinois, in an interview with Reuters.
North America has seven species of periodical cicadas, of which, three spend about 17 years underground and the rest spend 13 years there.
As reported by Reuters, parts of Illinois are poised to be at the centre for the two broods of periodical cicadas, which will emerge together to briefly mate and die.
However, for those who are upset by the noise produced by the cicadas, it won't last long. Once cicadas emerge, they only live for a few weeks. After that, there will be a “bit of a mess” that follows afterward, according to Alan Carroll, a professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
(Pexels)
When cicadas arise, they can be beneficial for the environment in different ways, providing food for birds and other wildlife, and influencing forest ecosystems.
As well, cicadas aerate the soil and fertilize surrounding plant vegetation, making them a key ecosystem component.
WATCH: Cicadas reign over a magical mini world in a photographer's studio
Thumbnail courtesy of Reuters.
With files from Reuters and Cheryl Santa Maria, a digital reporter at The Weather Network.
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