Latest news with #Cicada
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
They're back! Cicadas are back for 2025 in Tennessee. Here's where Brood XIV is emerging
They're baaack! Did you miss them? Cicadas have started to reemerge for the 2025 season. The bugs are generally harmless, but the drone of their buzzing will quickly become a nuisance for Tennesseans. The 17-year periodical Brood XIV cicada will be the predominant cicada species haunting Tennessee in 2025. This species of cicada was last seen in 2008. The bugs arrived as forecast; in late April or early May, when the soil temperature at eight inches deep reached 64 degrees. Until June, these large, red-eyed insects will be in just about every corner of the Volunteer State. Here's what to know about the noisy bugs and their tenure in Tennessee this summer. Have there already been cicada sightings in Tennessee? A cicada rests on the jersey of Providence Academy's Luke Mcintosh (28) before the start of the Division II Class A TSSAA baseball tournament game against Columbia Academy on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Cicadas are coming out all across the eastern half of the United States, especially in Tennessee and Western North Carolina. A preliminary report from Cicada Safari shows a whopping 360 Cicada sightings near Asheville. There have been 35 sightings near Pigeon Forge, 26 in southeast Tennessee and another seven near Knoxville. Nashville has 18 reported sightings, according to the Cicada Safari map. Which states will have cicadas in 2025? Thirteen U.S. states, including Tennessee, will see cicadas this year. States getting cicadas in 2025 are concentrated in the eastern half of the country: Georgia Indiana Kentucky Massachusetts Maryland North Carolina New Jersey New York Ohio Pennsylvania Tennessee Virginia West Virginia When are the cicadas coming to Tennessee? Cicadas will begin to emerge from their underground burrows in the springtime, once the temperature reaches about 65 degrees, according to Cicada Mania. You'll likely start to see cicadas in the Volunteer State during the fourth week in April or the first week in May, according to Gene Kritsky, founder of Cicada Safari. Southern Tennessee will be first to hear the buzz of cicadas, then the insects will start coming out in the northern part of the Volunteer State. How long will the cicadas be in Tennessee? The Brood XIV cicadas will only stick around in Tennessee for a few weeks. The periodical cicadas will be present as early as April 2025 and should disappear again by late June, according to Cicada Mania. When will the cicadas go away in Tennessee? This is probably your most pressing cicada-related question: When will they finally be gone?!? Cicadas will likely have gone away in Tennessee by late June 2025. Cicada emergence map 2025 How long do cicadas live? The lifespan of a cicada varies. There are over 3,000 species of cicadas, according to National Geographic. The Brood XIV cicadas generally have a lifespan of about 17 years. Are cicadas blind? No. Cicadas actually have excellent vision, according to the University of Connecticut biodiversity research collections. CIcadas' supposed blindness is a myth because periodical cicadas don't care about where they land. Can cicadas bite? No. Cicadas do not bite, nor do they sting. Though they are annoying, the bugs are not considered to be harmful. Can dogs eat cicadas? While cicadas are not inherently toxic for dogs, the American Kennel Club recommends stopping your pups from eating the bugs. If dogs eat one or two cicadas, the dogs likely will be OK. However, if dogs eat too many, the bug's exoskeleton will become difficult to digest. This can cause your dog to have severe stomach upset and abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea, according to the American Kennel Club. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Brood XIV cicada are in Tennessee, see where and the buzz about them
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A massive brood of cicadas will soon emerge. Here's what to know.
A massive brood of periodical cicadas will emerge soon across the eastern United States, with the notoriously raucous springtime insects due for their 2025 appearance. Known for their buzzing hordes and ability to rapidly infiltrate the environments where they show up, cicadas are expected to swarm parts of Kentucky and Tennessee this year, while arriving in smaller quantities in various places along the East Coast, from Massachusetts and New York down to western Georgia. Here's what to know about the infamous creatures. What are periodical cicadas? Periodical cicadas are moderately sized bugs with red eyes and translucent wings, usually measuring about an inch long with a wider wingspan. They are sometimes mistakenly associated with locusts, like grasshoppers, but cicadas are actually an entirely different sort of insect, part of the same family as stink bugs and bedbugs. The synchronized behavior of periodical cicadas is their most defining characteristic. Compared with annual cicadas, which appear in generally modest amounts each summer, periodical cicadas emerge in the spring and essentially rise from the ground in unison, in either 13-year or 17-year intervals. Cicadas that emerge on the same schedule are called a brood, and each is labeled using Roman numerals. This year, the group belongs to Brood XIV, the second-largest brood of periodical cicadas known to scientists, according to the University of Connecticut. Researchers with the university's Cicada Project note that, while they cannot technically know with certainty where a particular brood is going to emerge next, its last known locations during previous emergence events usually provide valuable insights. Because periodical cicadas typically lay their eggs in or near the areas where they've just emerged, the next generation of broods tend to emerge themselves in similar places. Cicada map predicts where they will emerge in 2025 Based on University of Connecticut research, CBS News' data team created an interactive map that charts the expected spread of Brood XIV, which last arose 17 years ago and is the only brood emerging in 2025. The map shows the cicadas primarily concentrated in Kentucky and Tennessee, in addition to parts of Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Farther north, the brood is also expected to take shape in smaller pockets, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Long Island, New York; and central Pennsylvania. When will Brood XIV emerge? The brood will emerge before the end of spring on June 21, but cicadas' arrivals in different parts of the U.S. will likely vary. Cicada expert Matthew Kasson told CBS News in 2024 that the exact timing of a brood's emergence is linked to the temperature of the soil they're in before moving above ground. Kasson said cicadas are prompted to exit the soil when it reaches 64 degrees, so groups within the larger brood may travel to the surface sooner than others in cooler locations. What do cicadas do? The life cycles of periodical cicadas are closely tied to how and where they emerge. Before a brood materializes on land, each of its members — sometimes trillions of them — exist underground as larvae, subsiding on fluids from plant roots, according to the National Wildlife Federation. They live in those conditions for 13 or 17 years, depending on their brood. Then, almost all at once, the insects burrow upward and break through the surface of the soil, often making their presence known by erupting in loud and at times constant choruses. Conspicuous noises from cicada swarms are a mating tactic, the wildlife federation writes, as the male insects gather in groups and create loud sounds to attract females. The mating process begins within a few days of cicadas emerging. When it ends, the females cut shallow grooves into tree branches and lay their eggs inside. Researchers at Arizona State University say those eggs usually hatch within 8 weeks, and newly born cicadas fall from the branches down to the ground. Called nymphs at that point, the young bugs proceed to dig their way back underneath the soil, where they remain until it's time to emerge again. Adult cicadas typically remain above ground in a given location for 4 to 6 weeks after they first emerge. Researchers note that most of the individual insects live for less time, but that window accounts for some degree of staggering when the brood emerges, since that happens over a period of about two weeks. The life of teen idol Bobby Darin Saturday Sessions: Goose performs "Thatch" Bill Belichick on a life in football
CBS News
28-04-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Cicada Brood XIV is emerging in 2025. Here's what to know about the periodical bugs.
A massive brood of periodical cicadas will emerge soon across the eastern United States, with the notoriously raucous springtime insects due for their 2025 appearance. Known for their buzzing hordes and ability to rapidly infiltrate the environments where they show up, cicadas this year are expected to swarm parts of Kentucky and Tennessee while arriving in smaller quantities in various places along the East Coast, from Massachusetts and New York down to western Georgia. Here's what to know about the infamous creatures. What are periodical cicadas? Periodical cicadas are moderately sized bugs with red eyes and translucent wings, usually measuring about an inch long with a wider wingspan. They are sometimes mistakenly associated with locusts, like grasshoppers, but cicadas are actually an entirely different sort of insect, part of the same family as stink bugs and bedbugs. The synchronized behavior of periodical cicadas is their most defining characteristic. Compared with annual cicadas, which appear in generally modest amounts each summer, periodical cicadas emerge in the spring and essentially rise from the ground in unison, in either 13-year or 17-year intervals. Cicadas that emerge on the same schedule are called a brood, and each is labeled using Roman numerals. This year, the group belongs to Brood XIV, the second-largest brood of periodical cicadas known to scientists, according to the University of Connecticut. Researchers with the university's Cicada Project note that, while they cannot technically know with certainty where a particular brood is going to emerge next, its last known locations during previous emergence events usually provide valuable insights. Because periodical cicadas typically lay their eggs in or near the areas where they've just emerged, the next generation of broods tend to emerge themselves in similar places. Cicada map predicts where they will emerge in 2025 Based on University of Connecticut research, CBS News' data team created an interactive map that charts the expected spread of Brood XIV, which last arose 17 years ago and is the only brood emerging in 2025. The map shows the cicadas primarily concentrated in Kentucky and Tennessee, in addition to parts of Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Farther north, the brood is also expected to take shape in smaller pockets, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Long Island, New York; and central Pennsylvania. When will Brood XIV emerge? The brood will emerge before the end of spring on June 21, but cicadas' arrivals in different parts of the U.S. will likely vary. Cicada expert Matthew Kasson told CBS News in 2024 that the exact timing of a brood's emergence is linked to the temperature of the soil they're in before moving above ground. Kasson said cicadas are prompted to exit the soil when it reaches 64 degrees, so groups within the larger brood may travel to the surface sooner than others in cooler locations. What do cicadas do? The life cycles of periodical cicadas are closely tied to how and where they emerge. Before a brood materializes on land, each of its members — sometimes trillions of them — exist underground as larvae, subsiding on fluids from plant roots, according to the National Wildlife Federation. They live in those conditions for 13 or 17 years, depending on their brood. Then, almost all at once, the insects burrow upward and break through the surface of the soil, often making their presence known by erupting in loud and at times constant choruses. Conspicuous noises from cicada swarms are a mating tactic, the wildlife federation writes, as the male insects gather in groups and create loud sounds to attract females. The mating process begins within a few days of cicadas emerging. When it ends, the females cut shallow grooves into tree branches and lay their eggs inside. Researchers at Arizona State University say those eggs usually hatch within 8 weeks, and newly born cicadas fall from the branches down to the ground. Called nymphs at that point, the young bugs proceed to dig their way back underneath the soil, where they remain until it's time to emerge again. Adult cicadas typically remain above ground in a given location for 4 to 6 weeks after they first emerge. Researchers note that most of the individual insects live for less time, but that window accounts for some degree of staggering when the brood emerges, since that happens over a period of about two weeks.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Will lost ‘Cicada' fly anew? Project aims to create replica of plane that crashed in 1932
The life cycle of the muscular little plane they called the L1 Cicada was tragically short. Nearly a century later, hope lingers that another of these flying marvels could hatch. If luck breaks their way. The original Cicada lived and died in 1932. Frank Lynch, a World War I flight instructor and stunt pilot, had commissioned it to be built for $10,000 by Springfield aviation engineer Robert L. Hall so Lynch and his wife, Josephine, could fly it around the globe, just five years after Charles Lindbergh's pioneering trans-Atlantic solo flight. That journey was postponed after Josephine got pregnant. But Lynch was in Agawam on Dec. 4, 1932, for further test flights. After two successful takeoffs and landings that day, Lynch lost control of the plane when lifting off the grass field at the Bowles-Agawam Airport and crashed into a hangar. Dozens at the airfield witnessed the awful scene. When it hit the brick hangar, the Cicada was going nearly 100 mph. The impact ripped the nine-cylinder, 400-horsepower Pratt & Whitney engine from its mounts. The propeller snapped. A shredded electrical line ignited the plane's fuel. The resulting explosion sent bricks flying 150 feet, according to news accounts in The Republican. Lynch, who could not be rescued due to the flames, was buried with military honors in his home town of Waterbury, Connecticut. The crash was attributed to pilot error, not mechanical defect. Today, designer Robert Hall's son, Eric, is part of an effort to create a faithful replica of the Cicada, complete with its striking paint treatment conveying the look of the Mexican insect. They want to celebrate a golden age of civil aviation in the Springfield area, when people like Hall created flying racers that pushed the envelope on aeronautical design and competed in races around the country. 'It kind of got forgotten,' Matt Lawlor, an aviation historian who is one of the people working on the replica project, said of the L1 Cicada and planes like it. Perhaps too much so. Lawlor says that while he and others have amassed lots of information on the Cicada, after looking in 'every conceivable place,' the team needs more specifics on the plane's design before it can commission a new builder, Jim Jenkins of Washington State, to get to work. Lawlor is appealing to families in Western Massachusetts and beyond to share information they might have about the unique aircraft. 'We need more details on the plane. Every little piece of information helps along the way,' Lawlor said. 'I believe the answers we are seeking are out there in someone's attic or closet.' Finding a working example of the Pratt & Whitney engine in the Cicada, the 'Wasp Junior,' isn't a problem; the engines can be bought for around $50,000 today, according to Lawlor. The cost overall of the replica project is likely to be several hundred thousand dollars. The discovery of technical drawings or blueprints for the full plane would ensure success. 'That would be the pinnacle of what we're looking for,' Lawlor said. 'Even something as small as a 3-by-5-inch photo can tell us something, though that doesn't give you the inner workings of how the plane functioned.' Anyone with information is invited to contact Lawlor by email at SpringfieldAircraftCo@ Eric Hall, the designer's son, says people often brought up this and other planes in conversations with his father. The elder Hall had studied mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1927, the year of Lindbergh's solo flight. Aviation beckoned. 'He was hooked,' Eric Hall said of his father. 'He wasted no time after graduating taking a job at the then-new aircraft company Fairchild. He was also attracted by the speed of aircraft and the changes it would bring to the world.' Hall went to work in 1929 with the Granville Brothers Aircraft Co. in Springfield and was lead designer for the company's Gee Bee Z, nicknamed 'City of Springfield.' The plane won the 1931 National Air Races held in Cleveland. The Great Depression was about to deflate interest in luxury products like airplanes. Hall broke away from Granville Brothers in 1931 and joined a flying school based at Springfield's airport, before shifting to the Agawam airport (now the site of an industrial park) and founding the Springfield Aircraft Co. Hall was commissioned by Lynch to build the two-seated Cicada in March 1932 and the craft was ready just three months later, with its maiden flight on June 25, 1932, complete with a green, brown and ivory paint design, including large eyes on both sides of the engine, by George Agnoli of Springfield. Hall and Lynch flew it to Niagara, New York, on June 26. The plane placed fourth in an air race. The Cicada had also been flown in 1932 to Michigan, Ohio and Washington, D.C., before the December crash. 'Although there were a lot of planes of his design he could be proud of, the only pictures of planes in his den were of the Gee Bee Z, The Bulldog and the Cicada (other planes he designed). He was asked all his life about these planes. I am sure he was proud to be asked,' Hall said in an email interview. Hall says he and his dad never spoke in depth about the Cicada, except about the fatal crash. The plane had been flown twice before that December day. When Lynch maneuvered it back to the grass field at around 2 p.m., pointing into the wind for takeoff, he appears to have pulled up the controls before reaching the proper speed, according to research by Lawlor. With the plane only a few feet off the ground, it suddenly shifted direction toward the hangar. Lynch didn't react in time and when he attempted to pull up to avoid the collision, it was too late. Robert Hall was at the Agawam airport that day and ran with others to the hangar, grabbed fire extinguishers and climbed to the roof. No one could get within 10 or 15 feet of the wreckage, the newspaper reported. A state and federal investigation of the crash found that the plane had been mechanically sound. Lynch, 43, had failed a flight surgeon's physical that summer due to high blood pressure and had gone to a friend to be cleared for a license, Lawlor said. While Lynch was adept at World War I planes, and had been a stunt pilot for Hollywood movies, he had been away from aviation as he built a successful business. In the meantime, planes had changed dramatically – particularly in engine power, Lawlor notes. 'There was a big jump in technology there and he was trying to catch up,' he said of Lynch. Lawlor has been in touch with Lynch family members, including a stepson of Frank's who is now 100 years old. None of those family members have been able to come up with records or designs of the Cicada's short life. The little plane lived on in Robert Hall's memory, his son says, even after he closed the Springfield Aircraft Co. in 1933 and moved on, in 1936, to a long career with Grumman, a major aircraft manufacturer. At Grumman, he helped to design and test aircraft used in World War II, among them the Grumman Wildcat, Hellcat, Avenger, Goose, Bearcat and Tigercat. Hall's time with Grumman included a shift to the age of jet aircraft. He retired as a vice president in 1970; Hall died in 1991 at age 85. 'I am convinced he liked the plane a lot. It must have been a beautifully flying airplane,' Eric Hall said of the Cicada. To Hall's knowledge, there is no current replica. He is designing a remote-control flying model of the Cicada, aided by drawings by Lawlor. 'As I do, I am designing it with as much exact detail structure in it as the real plane had,' he said. 'This will include modeling internal steel tubular structure and wing rib details, for instance. It could be the basis of a full-scale replica.' For Hall, having a true working replica Cicada would build public understanding of a time when small firms, like the Springfield Aircraft Co. started by his dad, chased dreams of racing glory with what he terms 'a very high standard of aeronautical design and aircraft workmanship.' 'I think the people of Springfield would be proud that the Cicada was designed and built there, another example of the time that Springfield was the center of the air racing world,' Hall said. Jenkins, the likely builder of the replica, is from Connecticut and constructed a version of another plane designed by Hall, the Gee Bee. He could not be reached for comment. Lawlor, who is 40 and grew up in Agawam, is the sparkplug of the venture. He says he fell in love with airplanes as a child and recalls that damage from the 1932 crash could still be seen at the airport hangar until the structure was demolished in the early 1980s. He thinks of the racers from Hall's era as muscle cars of the sky – a lot of horsepower in small packages. He's been studying the history of Springfield-area plane manufacturers for two decades. 'It started this personal journey for myself,' said Lawlor, who now lives in North Carolina. Today, Eric Hall is his co-pilot of sorts. 'He's been a huge help in this whole process,' Lawlor said of Hall. 'He wants to see this built as much as we do.' Under Federal Aviation Administration rules, the replica would be categorized as an experimental aircraft. Lawlor is confident the team could build a plane that is safe and reliable – just as the original Cicada was for half a year, until Lynch's mistakes on takeoff that December day. 'The goal is to get it to Massachusetts, so it can be seen and appreciated,' Lawlor said of the replica. After that? 'Retire it to a museum where it can live on forever,' he said. 'It's such a forgotten piece of aviation history.'
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Difficult but necessary;' Local bubble tea shop announces upcoming closure
A local bubble tea shop announced its upcoming closure on Wednesday. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] OH Boba posted on social media that its location at 1120 Brown Street will close on May 16. TRENDING STORIES: 1 dead after crash in Springfield neighborhood Man learns sentence for death of 15-year-old girl; woman charged in attempted cover-up, deputies say Cicada infestation: Where will Brood XIV emerge? The post indicates that the decision was not easy for the owners, as 'Brown Street truly felt like home.' 'However, with the challenges of the current political climate and the uncertain economy ahead, we had to make a very difficult but necessary decision for the future of our small business,' the post said. The owners thank everyone who has supported the business. 'Thank you for being part of our Brown Street journey. This isn't goodbye forever — it's just a part of our story. We hope to see you again soon, and until then, please know how much you have touched our hearts,' the post said. Anyone with OH Boba gift cards will be able to redeem them at the Troy and Springfield locations. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
