Cicada Swarm Begins Rare Emergence in Eastern US After 17 Years Underground

Researchers are tracking one of the largest cicada broods as it surfaces across multiple states from Georgia to New York.

A periodical cicada flies from a branch of an American Sweetgum tree in the Valley View Nature Preserve in Milford, Ohio, on May 26, 2025. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

A rare mass emergence of cicadas is underway across the eastern United States as Brood XIV—one of the largest 17-year periodical cicada broods—surfaces for the first time since 2008.

Found only in eastern North America, periodical cicadas are known for their long underground life cycles, synchronized mass emergences, and piercing mating calls, according to researchers at the University of Connecticut.