Red-eyed, screaming insects will swarm SC soon

Horror film? Nope, it’s the emergence of cicadas after 13 years underground. They’re known as Brood XIX or the Great Southern Brood and they’re coming to a forest or state park near you this April.

Cicadas emerge each year in South Carolina, but Brood XIX, known as periodical cicadas, come out like clockwork every 13 years. It’s the only periodical cicada in South Carolina, among dozens of species spread throughout the eastern United States.

This year is special because two broods will emerge at the same time — Brood XIX and Brood XIII, though the two broods do not overlap geographically.

Brood XIII, emerging after 17 years, is in the Midwest, the first time this has happened since 1803 when Thomas Jefferson was president and the United States doubled in size with the Louisiana Purchase.

Eric Benson, retired entomology professor and extension specialist at Clemson University, said they emerge on almost the same day after spending more than a decade feeding on tree roots.

The annual cicada and Brood XIX are easy to distinguish. The ones that come out every year are green and black with black eyes and are about 2 inches long. Slightly smaller, Brood XIX are vibrant, with orange veins in wings and red eyes.

When they leave the ground, they attach to a nearby object, often the bark of a tree or car and shed their immature skin. Once the new skin hardens, they fly up into the trees and begin the mating ritual.

This is when most people are aware they’re around. The males call the females, and the sound can be deafening. In some instances as loud as a chainsaw.

But the ladies like it.

Once impregnated the females sit on a branch of a tree, often oak, tulip poplar or maple, and lay the eggs, which hatch in six to seven weeks. Then the adults die and the babies drop to the ground and begin burrowing to find their tree root.

The cycle begins anew.

“It’s been going on since the beginning of time,” Benson said.

Chances are if you live in an urban area, you’re not going to see many, but for those in rural areas from Columbia to northwestern South Carolina (and other parts of the Southeast), there could be millions, he said.

They are an important piece of the ecosystem and a sign of health. They’re also a source of food for a variety of animals and their carcasses release nutrients into the soil, Benson said.

They don’t carry disease and are not harmful to humans or pets.

When we hear them, they’re just crying out for love.