This week, for the first time in centuries, trillions of insects will simultaneously emerge from the ground to mate, lay eggs and, potentially, wreak havoc on food systems. Experts are bracing for biblical scenes: Two massive broods of periodical cicadas have begun descending upon the United States. (These are not locusts, as notably mentioned in the Old Testament; the two swarming bugs are often confused.) The insects are expected to appear in seventeen states, starting in Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi before moving into South Carolina and spreading up through the Midwest and Northeast.
While periodical cicadas appeared in both 2020 and 2021, this spring marks the first time in over 200 years that two large broods, Brood XIX (known as the Great Southern Brood) and Brood XIII (the Northern Illinois Brood) will pop out of the ground at the same time. Translation? The last time this happened, Thomas Jefferson was president.
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After years of battling invasive insects like Japanese beetles and spotted lanternflies, there are fears that this huge swarm of noisy bugs will create even more chaos for struggling vines in emerging American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in the Eastern United States. Here’s why this influx of winged, burrowing insects could be cause for concern.
A Bug’s Life
into two groups: annual and periodical. As the name suggests, small and dark annual cicadas appear annually, climbing out of the ground in July and lingering around
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
