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Scientific American
07-05-2025
- Science
- Scientific American
Prepare for ‘Sex, Drugs and Zombies'—Brood XIV Cicadas Are Coming
As spring warms the eastern U.S. and green shoots peek from the ground, other forms of life stir in the soil. Periodical 17-year cicadas in Brood XIV—one of 15 broods found only in North America—begin to creep from their underground burrows. Last seen in 2008, they will emerge in the billions across a dozen states from early May through June. Above ground, flightless cicada nymphs transform into black-bodied, winged adults, ready for a month-long bacchanal of song and sex. But for many cicadas—possibly tens of millions—mating will be a gruesome parody of procreation in which their body is turned into a disintegrating puppet by the deadly fungus Massospora cicadina, which only infects 13-year and 17-year cicadas. An infected insect will try to mate even though its genitals have been consumed by the fungus and replaced by a plug of fungal structures called conidiospores, which spread their 'zombification' effect on contact. M. cicadina makes male cicadas flick their wings like amorous females do; healthy males become infected when they try to mate with the imposters. The fungus also floods cicadas with cathinone, a stimulant that also occurs in khat, a plant chewed as a recreational drug in some parts of the world. In cicadas, cathinone may boost hypersexualized behavior. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. 'It's sex, drugs and zombies,' says John Cooley, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Connecticut. 'Nature is stranger than any science fiction that's ever been written.' 'World's Best Study Organisms' Fungus and cicada, zombifier and zombie: their relationship is at least 100 million years old, and scientists are still piecing together how it works, says Matt Kasson, a mycologist at West Virginia University. Every brood emergence helps address questions that can't be answered in a lab, such as when the fungus invades nymphs' bodies. 'When you're dealing with something that spends 16.9 years underground, there's a lot of uncertainty there,' Kasson says. When M. cicadina infects adults, it produces durable, thick-walled 'resting spores' that drop from its host's crumbling abdomen onto the ground. Resting spores infect other nymphs, which, after metamorphosis, develop their own plug of stalklike conidiospores—the spores that sexually transmit the fungus to other adults. But scientists don't know if resting spores infect nymphs after they hatch or when they surface more than a decade later. In fact, the fungus may have more than these two spore types; they can possibly produce others that kill nymphs underground, Kasson says. Researchers recently found that M. cicadina has the largest genome in the fungus kingdom, meaning that certain aspects of its biology—such as its reproductive cycle—could be quite complex. The only other fungi with a comparable genome size are rust fungi: plant pathogens with up to five life cycle stages. Given that rust fungi and M. cicadina both have unusually large genomes, M. cicadina might share other features with rust fungi, such as multiple spore varieties, Kasson suggests. According to Cooley, periodical cicadas' unusually long nymph stage has led to a lack of specialized predators of these insects, with one exception: M. cicadina. 'It's not surprising that the thing that would crack the cicada life cycle is a fungus that can have resting stages, so it can just wait out until the appropriate time,' he says. Because M. cicadina prevents its hosts from reproducing, the fungus may also affect cicada populations and brood distribution; that relationship, Cooley adds, is another piece of the periodical cicada puzzle. For Cooley, periodical cicadas offer a window into species distribution and how populations shift over time. Despite their lengthy underground stage, periodical cicadas are nonetheless good research subjects because adults are abundant and easy to find. 'They're loud; they're obvious; they tell you exactly where they are,' Cooley says. 'They turn out to be one of the world's best study organisms for asking really big evolutionary questions about species and speciation.' Over time, climate change and human activity have reshaped the cicadas' habitats: populations wax and wane, and some broods vanish entirely. Brood XIV will include three periodical cicada species: Magicicada cassini, Magicicada septendecim and Magicicada septendecula. Their emergence will show how the species and populations interact and identify potential mates of their own kind. 'What I'm going after directly is the question of range change,' Cooley says. 'I'm also looking for overlaps between this and other broods.' Within the broods, patterns of waxing and waning zombie infections can reveal how cicada populations change over time. Zombie Counting and Tracking Brood XIV cicadas will be most abundant in Kentucky and Tennessee, with smaller populations as far south as northern Georgia and as far north as Massachusetts. Places with more cicadas will almost certainly have more zombies, says entomologist Chris Alice Kratzer, author and illustrator of the field guide The Cicadas of North America. 'I would expect to see a lot more Massospora in Kentucky and Tennessee this year than in some places like Pennsylvania or Massachusetts,' Kratzer says. Based on prior records from the crowdsourcing app iNaturalist for other broods, Kasson predicts that approximately two to four percent of Brood XIV will be zombified. For people who want to contribute to M. cicadina research, 'uploading photos to community science platforms like iNaturalist is really essential for scientists like myself to figure out where the fungus is and is not,' he says. Kratzer, who has previously confirmed sightings of cicadas and M. cicadina for iNaturalist, is also verifying Brood XIV sightings for the platform. When someone posts a sighting of a cicada with a Massospora infection, Kratzer encourages the observer to create entries for both the cicada and the fungus. 'It's a very exciting part of science to be in because anyone with a camera or a microphone can contribute.' If cicada-spotters are patient, they could pinpoint a zombie or two. But even if they don't find any, the sheer number of periodical cicadas is impressive to behold. With predictions of as many as 1.5 million insects per square acre in some places, this year's Brood XIV emergence will be a sight that observers won't soon forget. 'Everybody loves a spectacle,' Cooley says. 'And if these aren't a spectacle, I don't know what is.'
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
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'It stings': Vestal teachers protest for new contract
VESTAL, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Teachers from the Vestal School District protested outside of yesterday's board of education meeting, as its been over 275 days since their contracts have expired. Hundreds of protestors held signs and shouted chants like 'fair contract now.' Vestal Teachers Association President Joe Herrinshaw says Vestals' teachers are still working under the terms and conditions of their old, expired contracts. Herrinshaw says the staff's morale is incredibly low and only worsening. He says the protestors are demanding more pay but have agreed to switch to a cheaper PPO healthcare plan, which he says would save the district and taxpayers over $700,000. Herrinshaw also took issue with Superintendent Cliff Kasson's recent 4 percent raise. 'We start negotiating in February and we don't reach a successor agreement. We laid off employees from every bargaining unit except for the administrative staff, and then in June, he opened his contract and his administrative team, and his personal secretary. Gave raises and contract enhancements without one single concession. It stings when you hear sustainability,' Herrinshaw said. Kasson says the district wants a fair contract and for the teachers to receive raises. He says the district has offered a 4.5 percent raise in the first year of the contract and 3.8 percent for the following two years. Kasson says other issues include the district's desire to have teachers stay one hour late 6 times a year for additional staff development. Kasson wants Herrinshaw to agree to teach more than just 3 classes a day as the union head. But Kasson says the biggest issue is the union's demand to increase the district's contribution to retiree healthcare plans which he says would more than negate the healthcare savings from switching to the PPO. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
