1 reading minute
ANDEarlier this spring, two broods of cicadas – 13-year-old brood XIX and 17-year-old brood XIII – made history in a co-emergence not seen in more than two centuries.
Their mating call is being heard throughout the Midwest and Southeast — although Illinois is experiencing an especially significant year, as periodic and annual cicadas congregate at the same time. Although there is little overlap between the two broods of periodical cicadas, the greatest likelihood of contact between the broods is near Springfield, Illinois, according to the University of Connecticut.
This slight overlap does not necessarily mean that the two litters will breed. “Is there a possibility of interactions and hybridization? This can occur, but given the long life cycles, it’s really difficult to study,” PJ Liesch, director of the Insect Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, tells TIME.
Periodic cicadas spend most of their livelihood underground before rising to the surface to repopulate for the next generation of cicadas.
Below are photos of the noisy little creatures, from Chicago to Dewitt County, Illinois.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
