
Cicadas Set to Return in 2025, but in Smaller Numbers
The noisy, buzzing cicadas are set to return to the United States this year, but their numbers are not expected to be as overwhelming as they were in the spring of 2024. This year, only Brood XIV, the second-largest group of periodical cicadas, will emerge after spending 17 years underground.
Brood XIV is known for its noisy mass emergence from the ground, and its presence will be felt in areas of north Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, southern Indiana and Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. However, researchers have noted that Brood XIV cicada populations are declining on Long Island and their distributions are shifting in southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana.
While the exact timing of their emergence is unknown, cicadas typically appear in May and last through June. During this time, they mature, mate, lay eggs, and then die off. Their offspring then begin the 17-year cycle anew.
Climate change is also affecting the timing of the insects' arrival. Last year, the cicadas' return started in Georgia nearly two weeks ahead of schedule.
Estimating the population of any insect is difficult, and cicadas are no exception. While hundreds of trillions, or even quadrillions, of cicadas were expected in 2024 when two massive broods emerged at the same time, this year's emergence is expected to be smaller. However, more than a trillion cicadas could still emerge, though they won't all be in the same place at the same time.