---
title: Double Cicada Mania Approaches—But Seeing Them Calls for a Road Trip
date: 2024-04-04T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/double-cicada-mania-approaches-but-seeing-them-calls-for-a-road-trip"
section: Articles
---
# Double Cicada Mania Approaches—But Seeing Them Calls for a Road Trip

*April 4, 2024* — by [Chris Carroll](/author/chris-carroll)


> ‘Bug Guy’ Explains ‘Bizarre’ Survival Strategy, Next Local Emergence


This month, residents of the DMV hoping to witness a jaw-dropping wonder of nature will have to travel to experience the full glory—and no, it’s not Monday’s total solar eclipse.

The*other* natural wonder will be when countless cicadas from two broods (one on a 13-year cycle and another of 17-year cicadas) muscle their way out of the ground in 18 states. They’ll climb up a fence or a plant and shed their shells for a few weeks of romantic pursuits, blasting their ear-piercing “song” and finally dying off in piles while their offspring burrow into the soil to prepare for their own emergence years later.

It will be the first time that members of Brood XIX—the “Great Southern Brood”—and Brood XIII have met each other since 1803, says University of Maryland cicada enthusiast Mike Raupp, aka “[The Bug Guy](https://bugoftheweek.com/thebugguy),” a professor emeritus of entomology who’s a staple media commentator on all things insect-related.

But whether it’s an occasion for disappointment or a quiet prayer of thanks, don’t bother to look for them near the UMD campus, he advised. Brood XIX’s stronghold sweeps in an arc across the Southeastern U.S. and up the country’s middle, while Brood XIII is mostly confined to the Upper Midwest.

“There’s a relictual group of Brood XIX hanging out in southern St. Mary’s County—that’s the only place they exist in Maryland,” Raupp said. “I’ll be heading south to greet them with a few other cicada aficionados later in April.”

Raupp spoke to Maryland Today about cicada history, whether this emergence might beat our area’s Brood X spectacle in 2021 and when we can next enjoy—or flee—the big bugs.



*two cicadas on branch — Photo by Adobe Stock*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Entomology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/entomology), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources), [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)