Trillions of periodic cicadas will soon ascend from Georgia's dirt for the first time since 2011.
"This is the emergence of the 13-year cicada called the Great Southern Brood," said Dr. Nancy Hinkle, an entomology professor at the University of Georgia. “It’s a novelty. It’s a great excuse to take your grandkids to the mountains, look for periodical cicadas, and explain the life cycles to them."
Hinkle said the cicadas have spent the last decade underground, patiently waiting for the ground to get to a perfect 64 degrees this year.
"These cicadas will emerge only where their parents were 13 years ago," she said.
This year is special because the Great Southern Brood is popping up at the same time as the Northern Illinois Brood.
It’s the first time they’ve coincided since 1803, and biologists say that won’t happen again until 2245.
While Metro Atlanta won’t get a double dose of the screaming critters like parts of the Midwest, Hinkle says the next few weeks will be prime for cicada eavesdropping in North Georgia.
"Particularly the very western, very northwestern part of the state," she said. "That’s where we found some of the largest numbers 13 years ago in the emerged."
It's tough to say how many cicadas will make their voices heard across the south, but some estimates are in the quadrillions.
Hinkle expects them to go back underground by late June.
