4 ms·

From a place where cicada are common, can confirm they're loud and the noise can easily drown out normal conversations if you're outside. Also here, I don't th

From a place where cicada are common, can confirm they're loud and the noise can easily drown out normal conversations if you're outside. Also here, I don't think cicadas are "periodical". It's an every year occurrence. It seems to be different in the US?

giantg2 2y ago
There are some annual ones, but they are few in numbers. The periodic ones are on a different level.
mlinhares 2y ago
Guessing you're either in or close to the tropics then.
- smallerfish 2y ago
  Am also in the tropics. For about two weeks in late Jan we have whistling cicadas - both loud and shrill. Regular cicadas no longer bother me, but the whistlers are straight out of a deep circle of hell.
olliej 2y ago
There are multiple species and broods of periodical cicadas - they're literally called that - it's really quite an interesting phenomena, but they have evolved life cycles in that are prime numbered years long, and frequently relatively prime as well. The extended life cycle means that no predator can rely on a single brood, and the relatively prime brood lengths of different groups mean they don't overlap sufficiently frequently for predators to manage by feeding on different broods each year. Then on a year when they do emerge they emerge in colossal numbers, far more than you experience with annual cicadas, and there's also nowhere near enough predation to meaningfully dent their numbers. This years exciting horror is the result of a bunch of things, summarized from the University of Connecticut [https://cicadas.uconn.edu https://cicadas.uconn.edu]: * For the first time since 2015 a 13-year brood will emerge in the same year as a 17-year brood. * For the first time since 1998 adjacent 13-and 17-year broods will emerge in the same year. * For the first time since 1803 Brood XIX and XIII will co-emerge. This particular event won't be one of the all encompassing horrors though as apparently the range of the overlap is relatively small.

giantg2 2y ago

There are some annual ones, but they are few in numbers. The periodic ones are on a different level.

mlinhares 2y ago

Guessing you're either in or close to the tropics then.

smallerfish 2y ago
Am also in the tropics. For about two weeks in late Jan we have whistling cicadas - both loud and shrill. Regular cicadas no longer bother me, but the whistlers are straight out of a deep circle of hell.

olliej 2y ago

There are multiple species and broods of periodical cicadas - they're literally called that - it's really quite an interesting phenomena, but they have evolved life cycles in that are prime numbered years long, and frequently relatively prime as well. The extended life cycle means that no predator can rely on a single brood, and the relatively prime brood lengths of different groups mean they don't overlap sufficiently frequently for predators to manage by feeding on different broods each year. Then on a year when they do emerge they emerge in colossal numbers, far more than you experience with annual cicadas, and there's also nowhere near enough predation to meaningfully dent their numbers. This years exciting horror is the result of a bunch of things, summarized from the University of Connecticut [https://cicadas.uconn.edu https://cicadas.uconn.edu]: * For the first time since 2015 a 13-year brood will emerge in the same year as a 17-year brood. * For the first time since 1998 adjacent 13-and 17-year broods will emerge in the same year. * For the first time since 1803 Brood XIX and XIII will co-emerge. This particular event won't be one of the all encompassing horrors though as apparently the range of the overlap is relatively small.