Cicadas 2025: Billions of Brood XIV will soon emerge, is your state on the list?
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
Get ready for an insect phenomenon that has been 17 years in the making. Starting this spring, when temperatures are warm enough, parts of the eastern United States will witness the emergence of Brood XIV periodical cicadas. After spending nearly two decades underground, these cicadas are set to emerge in droves, creating a spectacle that will be both seen and heard.
Brood XIV, the second-largest periodical cicada brood, last emerged in 2008. Since that time, the nymphs have been living underground, feeding on tree root sap and biding their time until their next emergence.
When are they expected to arrive?
Periodical cicada emergence hole. (Photo credit: University of Connecticut)
Depending on the location, the emergence is expected to begin in mid-May and last through late June, according to the University of Connecticut. The trigger for their appearance is soil temperature reaching 64 degrees Fahrenheit, 8 inches beneath the ground.
Cicada nymphs first create exit tunnels in the ground and then emerge, searching for something to climb like a tree or a fence. Then they molt, allowing the adult cicadas to emerge. The males then begin singing to attract the females. After being active for several weeks, the females lay their eggs, the adults die, and the nymphs return underground to wait until their next emergence, over a decade later.
A pile of dead and dying periodical cicadas, a member of Brood X, and their cast off nymph shells collects at the base of a tree on June 03, 2021 in Columbia, Maryland. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
As opposed to annual cicadas, periodical cicadas only emerge once every 13 or 17 years, making their appearance a rare event. Brood XIV cicadas are distinguished by their black and orange coloring, unlike the green annual cicadas that appear every summer.
Brood XIV are expected to emerge this year in Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
The last time this brood emerged was in 2008, making their cyclical return a highly anticipated event for entomologists and nature enthusiasts alike.
"That noise level can get up to a hundred decibels," Dr. Jim Fredericks with the National Pest Management Association told AccuWeather. "The sound of a passing jet plane, the sound of a lawnmower - this is really loud because it's literally hundreds of thousands or millions of individuals singing at the exact same time."
Are cicadas dangerous?
While the sheer number of cicadas and their loud mating calls might be a nuisance, experts assure that they pose no threat to humans or pets.
"People tend to be terribly afraid of insects, and these guys are big, but they are harmless," Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, an entomologist and associate director at the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University told ABC News. "They don't bite, and if your pets ingest them, they will be fine."
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
Can cicadas damage trees, plants and grass?
While cicadas can cause minor damage to young trees by breaking branches to lay their eggs, they generally benefit the ecosystem. "Cicadas are beneficial to tree health because the holes they create can lead to better moisture drainage into the soil and some natural pruning," said Tamra Reall, an entomologist at the University of Missouri.
For those who are fascinated by this natural event, Cicada Safari, a citizen science program, allows people to upload their sightings and contribute to tracking these insects.
As for the future, entomologists are already looking ahead to 2076, when Brood XIX and Brood XIV will have a joint emergence, creating an even more spectacular - and noisy - event.
So, if you find yourself in the eastern U.S. this spring, take a moment to appreciate the incredible natural phenomenon. Just remember to cover your young trees with fine netting to protect them and maybe invest in some earplugs!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
The sun: Facts about the bright star at the center of the solar system
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Quick facts about the sun How big it is: 865,000 miles (1.392 million kilometers) across How far away it is: 93 million miles (150 million km) What type of star it is: A yellow dwarf star The sun is the star at the center of our solar system. It's the largest, brightest and most massive object in the solar system, and it provides the light and heat that life on Earth depends on. Powered by a process called nuclear fusion, the sun can get hotter than 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius). The sun has been around for over 4 billion years, but one day, it will run out of fuel. Read on to learn more about what our local star is made of, how it formed and what will happen when it dies. Over 1 million Earths could fit inside the sun. The sun may look yellow from Earth, but it actually releases every color of light, meaning its true color is white. The sun is unique in that it's the only star in our solar system. Up to 85% of stars have at least one companion star. The sun contains over 99% of the mass of our entire solar system. Like Earth, the sun also rotates on its axis. Each rotation takes about 27 Earth days. The sun is a ball of gas and plasma made mostly of hydrogen. The sun uses these vast stores of hydrogen to generate the heat and light that sustain our planet. It does this through a process called nuclear fusion, in which two hydrogen atoms combine to create a different element, helium. The sun is about three-quarters hydrogen and one-quarter helium, with tiny amounts of metals. The larger a star is, the more rapidly it burns through its hydrogen. Some of the largest known stars — such as those with masses 40 times that of the sun — will live just 1 million years. By contrast, the sun will have a lifetime of around 10 billion years. Different parts of the sun reach different temperatures. The sun's core gets as hot as 27 million F (15 million C). The part of the sun we can see from Earth is called the photosphere, which is the "surface" of the huge ball of plasma. The temperature of the photosphere is about 9,900 F (5,500 C). Above the photosphere is the loose outer atmosphere of the sun, known as the corona. We can't see the corona from Earth under ordinary conditions, though it can be photographed during a total solar eclipse. The sun formed around 4.5 billion years ago. At that time, the area of the Milky Way galaxy that would become the solar system was a dense cloud of gas — the leftovers of an earlier generation of stars. The densest region of this cloud collapsed and created a seed, called a protostar, that would become the sun. As this young protostar grew, planets, moons and asteroids formed from the remaining raw material, and then began circling around the growing sun as they were sucked into orbit by the star's powerful gravity. At the heart of the sun, this same force sparked nuclear fusion. The heat and light from this nuclear reaction allowed life on Earth to evolve and prosper. However, this reaction will eventually lead to the sun's death when it runs out of nuclear fuel. The sun is around halfway through its lifetime. Our star is locked in a constant battle as outward pressure from nuclear fusion fights the inward pull of gravity. When the sun runs out of hydrogen in about 5 billion years, the inward force of gravity will win. The center of the sun will collapse, compressing into a dense core. Helium will start fusing into even denser elements, like carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. While this happens, the heat generated by the fusing of these elements will push the sun's outer shell to swell. This will be bad news for the inner planets of the solar system — including Earth. As the sun becomes a type of star called a red giant, its outer shell will expand to the orbit of Mars, gobbling up Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. But the red-giant phase is not when the sun will die. The outer layers that swell during the red-giant phase will become a shell of gas called a surrounding planetary nebula. This shell will be shed after approximately 1 billion years. This will expose the star's smoldering core, which, by this point, will be a dense ball called a white dwarf. As a white dwarf, the sun will dim. The material from the planetary nebula will spread out into the galaxy and form the building blocks of the next generation of stars and planets. Image 1 of 5 Space agencies have launched many spacecraft that help us observe and gather data about the sun. Pictured here is an artist's concept of the sun being observed by NASA's Parker Solar Probe. Image 2 of 5 The red giant star Camelopardalis. The sun will eventually become a red giant, and as it expands, it will engulf its nearest planets, including Earth. Image 3 of 5 Sunspots are darker, cooler areas that temporarily appear on the sun. They're caused by changes in the sun's magnetic field. Image 4 of 5 Solar storms happen when the sun releases flares of energy and particles. Image 5 of 5 Auroras on Earth happen when charged particles from the sun interact with our planet's atmosphere. Is Earth getting closer to the sun, or farther away? Where on Earth does the sun rise first? What color is the sun?
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
As Fluoride Bans Spread, Who Will Be Hit the Hardest?
A recent study projected that if the entire country were to stop adding fluoride to the water supply, tooth decay would increase by about 7.5%, representing about 25 million more cavities. Credit - Linda Raymond—Getty Images Cavities and dental costs are at risk of skyrocketing as a growing number of states consider banning the use of fluoride in public water—and children from low-income households are likely most vulnerable. In March, Utah became the first state to prohibit adding fluoride to drinking water. A couple months later, Florida followed suit. Several other states are now considering similar bills. In a recent study published in JAMA Health Forum, researchers projected what would happen if the entire country were to stop adding fluoride to the water supply. The potential impact on both people's oral health and their dental bills was substantial: Tooth decay, the study found, would increase by about 7.5%—representing about 25 million more cavities—and the U.S. would face about $9.8 billion in additional costs over five years, including both what families would have to pay out-of-pocket for dental care and what the government would need to pay for public health insurance. And those impacts would disproportionately affect children on public insurance plans or without insurance, the researchers found. Fluoridated water is 'an amazing public health intervention that comes straight from the tap,' says the senior author of the study, Dr. Lisa Simon, an internal medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who is also a general dentist. Read More: The Science Behind Fluoride in Drinking Water 'Fluoride works for everyone—it benefits adults, it benefits children,' Simon says. 'But the people who derive the most benefit from it are people who have a harder time accessing routine dental care.' 'Unfortunately, in our country, that is more likely to be children and families who are low-income, who rely on public insurance, or who otherwise face challenges in getting to a dentist,' she says. States' moves to ban the use of fluoride in public drinking water come as the Trump Administration—due in large part to the influence of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—has pushed back against the practice. Kennedy has long blasted water fluoridation, claiming it is linked to arthritis, bone cancer, IQ loss, and more, and signaled that HHS will stop recommending it. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that it is studying the potential health risks of fluoride, and the Food and Drug Administration said it is taking steps to remove prescription ingestible fluoride supplements for children from the market. Some research suggests that fluoride could be associated with lower IQ scores, but only at significantly high levels of exposure—the amount of fluoride that is added to public water, based on federal guidelines, is far lower. And the majority of public health experts, pediatricians, and dentists insist that water fluoridation is a long-standing practice that is both safe and effective at protecting oral health and fighting cavities and tooth decay. Read More: America's Dental Health Is in Trouble 'It's been touted to be one of the most successful or greatest public health initiatives, right up there with vaccinations,' says Dr. Tomitra Latimer, a pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. U.S. localities started adding fluoride to public water in 1945, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has credited the public health initiative for the 'dramatic decline in cavities' in the country in the years since. According to the CDC, drinking fluoridated water reduces cavities by roughly 25% in both children and adults. Tooth decay, though preventable, is one of the most common childhood diseases. And children of color, children who come from low-income households, children on public insurance plans that limit which providers they can see, and children who live in rural areas and have to travel long distances to access care—all of them are at greater risk of developing cavities, according to Latimer. Children with autism also tend to have a heightened risk of developing cavities because they may struggle with brushing their teeth regularly, she says. While there are alternative sources of fluoride that people can purchase, the cost may be out of reach for many families, Latimer says. That's why, she says, fluoridated water is so critical: It's an easily accessible tool that can help protect the oral health of children who are most vulnerable to cavities. And for generations, it's flowed straight from the tap. Contact us at letters@
National Geographic
2 days ago
- National Geographic
Can hypnosis really treat hot flashes?
Researchers at Baylor University have found that compared to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), hypnosis was more effective in reducing the frequency and severity of hot flashes. Above, infrared thermal imaging shows heat distribution across a woman's face. Thermogram by Joseph Giacomin, Getty Images The use of hypnosis for medical and psychological purposes dates back centuries. In the 18th century, Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer believed 'mesmerism' to be caused by an invisible fluid between the subject and the therapist. The practice was used to alter the perception of pain in surgical patients, and help people with psychological issues. Today hypnosis is understood to be a subjective state in which perception or memory can be evoked by suggestion. While our understanding of hypnotism has evolved, the practice is still a useful tool for both medicine and psychology. Modern day hypnotism has been used in battling addiction, provide relief from chronic pain, and most recently reducing the occurrence of hot flashes. Most women begin the menopausal transition, when the production of estrogen and progesterone declines and menstruation stops, between ages 45 and 55. Because of the shift in hormone levels, women can experience hot flashes before and during menopause. The sudden sensation of heat, sweating, anxiety, and chills can be debilitating. (Read more about what happens during menopause.) Researchers and practitioners argue that hypnosis could provide an alternative to hormone-driven therapies that can be expensive and come with their own risks. While it might sound far-fetched, studies of hypnosis treatment for hot flashes exist. Most of the research on behavioral interventions for menopause symptoms focuses on clinical hypnosis and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), but researchers at Baylor University wanted to dig deeper. In a 2025 scoping review, they found that compared to CBT, hypnosis was more effective in reducing both their frequency and severity. Here's a look at the science behind hypnosis treatment for hot flashes—what it entails and how it might actually work. (Was this hypnotic health craze an elaborate hoax or a medical breakthrough?) What causes hot flashes—and how are they treated? To treat hot flashes, 'I think it's first important to consider what causes hot flashes in the first place,' says Gary Elkins, lead author of the review study and clinical psychologist at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. 'It's not just the estrogen decline that causes a hot flash.' When a woman has a hot flash, there's a dysregulation in core body temperature. Core body temperature is regulated by the hypothalamus in the brain. 'During the menopause transition, there are many different hormonal changes that the hypothalamus is misperceiving as heat, so when a woman has a hot flash she has sweating that is designed to cool her down,' explains Elkins. More well-known and readily prescribed treatments are hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and hormone-free medications like veozah, gabapentin, and clonidine. HRT works by increasing hormone levels, while the hormone free-medications target brain cells and other pathways involved in hot flashes. The North American Menopause Society also recommends CBT as an effective non‐hormonal treatment. Hypnosis and hot flash triggers Elkins and his colleagues scoured the literature for studies on both hot flashes and CBT. Across 23 studies, the team found that after the first week of hypnosis practice, there was a decline on average of about 30 percent. By the fourth week, the decline in frequency was by 70 percent. CBT didn't seem to perform as well. So what might be happening in the brain to cut hot flashes down? Elkins and his colleagues suspect that when a woman goes under hypnosis and hears the post-hypnotic suggestions, the hypothalamus perceives coolness and the frequency of hot flashes begins to decline. Stress and anxiety are other major triggers of hot flashes, so as women practice hypnotic relaxation, the effects carry over to when the woman isn't doing the hypnosis, providing a way to regulate the stress response or the autonomic nervous system. Elkins emphasizes the importance of consistency. 'It's not like I will hypnotize you one time and hot flashes will go away. It doesn't work that way, because you've got to reinforce and re-experience the coolness—it's the mind-body connection.' What hypnosis therapy looks like Mary Cahilly, a mental health and wellness therapist, has already incorporated hypnosis for hot flashes in her offerings at Canyon Ranch, a wellness resort in Lenox, Massachusetts. There's a formula to hypnotism that practitioners use, and it typically begins with recalling something pleasant. 'When we have a pleasant memory, our body relaxes because the limbic part of the brain doesn't understand the difference between a thought and reality,' explains Cahilly. Then the muscles progressively relax and that leads to the official trance process. 'In the case of hot flashes,' says Cahilly, 'When you're in the trance, it's a feeling like you're in control of your body, that there's coolness, a sense of freedom and lightness.' A post-hypnotic suggestion is offered toward the end so that the woman can easily return to this state of coolness and relaxation during a hot flash. Hypnosis as an alternative treatment Many of the medications currently available to treat hot flash symptoms can cause side effects, ranging from inconvenient, like dry mouth and eyes, stomach upset, and drowsiness, to more serious like increased liver enzymes that can be a sign of liver damage. Because hypnosis has nothing to do with fixing estrogen levels, it doesn't come with side effects, and that's part of the appeal. Estrogen levels never return to their original levels after menopause, but hot flashes eventually go away because the hypothalamus begins to again regulate body temperature. 'It is believed,' Elkins speculates, 'that with the practice of hypnosis, the process of regulation is occurring earlier on.' There's also the issue of accessibility and cost—veozah has a monthly cost of roughly $550, while hypnosis can be accessed through an evidence-based digital therapeutic app created in partnership with Elkins, or an array of other apps like HypnoBox or EverCalm. While in-person hypnosis with therapists like Cahilly can cost upwards of $250, sessions can be recorded and used at home. (Could this be the end of menopause as we know it?) Elkins acknowledges the fraught relationship between women and healthcare, and that historically women have been dismissed or told their symptoms are all in their head. For Elkins and his team, it was important to explore whether the change hypnosis causes in hot flashes was due to belief. 'What we found was that it didn't matter if you believed in it, or you didn't believe in it,' he says. While hypnosis is a mind-body therapy, and has similarities with mindfulness or relaxation techniques, Elkins' research shows that CBT does not decrease the frequency or severity of hot flashes. Neither do mindfulness practices. 'They can both decrease how much it bothers a person, but there's little or no change in the hot flashes,' he notes. Is hypnosis simply a placebo effect? But researchers can't rule out a placebo effect—the idea that your brain can convince your body that a treatment works and heal your body's symptoms. 'Some hypnosis researchers actually call hypnosis a super placebo,' says Michael Lifshitz, assistant professor of social and transcultural psychiatry at McGill University. 'Your brain has the power to dramatically change itself through the power of suggestion.' While this might sound similar to wishful thinking, it's not. 'Placebo is not about what you think. It's not a mind cure. It's not positive thinking. It's not expectation, and it's not faith or belief,' explains Ted Kaptchuk, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. The important thing to note, according to Lifshitz, is that placebos can actually change your body's processes. 'There's all kinds of mind-body connections that are not just subjective—your subjective experience actually affects the capacity of your body in a lot of tangible ways.' When it comes to hypnosis for physical symptoms like hot flashes, Lifshitz thinks it's better to reframe our thinking: 'Let's embrace the power of the mind over the body and that hypnosis is a way of harnessing that power.' In a 2020 study, Kaptchuk investigated the efficacy of an open-label placebo (OLP) treatment for menopausal hot flashes—meaning, the patients were fully aware that they weren't taking medication. 'These patients are desperate after failed medications and doctor appointments. They are not expecting to get better,' he says. The study found that OLP treatment was both safe and effective. The exact mechanism behind placebo is complex, but with his research, Kaptchuk is hoping to understand its benefits. 'Placebos don't cure tumors. They don't cure malaria. They only turn down symptoms that the body creates itself,' he explains. Symptoms, like hot flashes, are the nerves and neurons in the body saying that something is happening, 'but your brain sees something more, turns up the volume, and you get bad hot flashes.' Even if the placebo effect drives the effectiveness of hypnosis in treating hot flashes, it's likely not a problem for patients. As Elkins puts it, 'if woman can see the research and evidence that hypnosis helps, it improves the frequency severity of hot flashes, they don't really care what you want to call it.'
