After a 17-year hiatus, Brood XIV cicadas are swarming the US South in vast numbers.

After a 17-year absence, Brood XIV cicadas are emerging across the US South, expected to surface in larger numbers as temperatures rise. These insects, belonging to the Hemiptera order and unique to the eastern US, emerge in vast numbers to mate before dying off, helping to satiate predators like birds and raccoons. Their survival is threatened by deforestation, urbanization, and climate change, which cause more "stragglers" to emerge at the wrong time.