Catherine Rusoff
Billions of cicadas are emerging in about 16 states in the Southeast and Midwest. Periodic cicadas it used to emerge reliably every 13 to 17 years, depending on the litter. But in a world warming where spring conditions arrive early, of Climate Change It’s messing with the insects’ internal alarm clocks.
Scientists believe that cicadas count the years by changing the flow of fluids in tree roots, and when the year comes to emerge, they remain underground until the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Spring-like conditions now occur earlier, with the season warming by 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the U.S. since 1970, according to Climate Centrala non-profit organization that researches climate change.
The early arrival of spring means That’s what cicadas are like. Last month, the the return of cicadas began in Georgia nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, before spreading north to the Chicago suburbs. The Southwest has experienced the most spring warming, with locations in Nevada, Texas and Arizona exceeding 6 degrees Fahrenheit of spring warming since 1970, according to Climate Central.
“In 2021, they emerged 11 days – almost two weeks – earlier,” said biologist Gene Kritsky, who has studied cicadas for decades. “That’s true for Baltimore, for Washington, for Philadelphia, for Indianapolis.”
Cicada watchers used to be able to predict their emergence as easily as astronomers could predict the recent solar eclipse. But this has become more challenging as cicadas’ patterns change as warm spring days come more frequently.
ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images
In 2007, a midwinter warm spell in Ohio caused trees to begin producing leaves prematurely, tricking cicadas into thinking an entire year had passed. Kritsky said this led them to count the years wrong, and when the real spring arrived months later, they emerged a year ahead of schedule.
“They had two fluid streams, so for them it was 17 years,” Kritsky said. “They didn’t detect that there was only a few weeks in between. They just detected that the fluid stopped and then started running again,” Kritsky said.
After returning to the world, they only live for a few weeks with one goal in mind: ensuring the species survives.
“They emerge in large numbers to dominate their predators. This way, predators can eat all the cicadas they want, and there are still millions left to reproduce,” Kritsky said.
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