More than a dozen states across the U.S. are set for a once-in-a-lifetime experience this spring, though it’s one most people would probably prefer to do without.
This year, 16 states across parts of the South and the Midwest will see the emergence of two different cicada groups in tandem, a crossover that hasn’t happened in 221 years and won’t again until 2245.
Periodic cicadas, the winged insects best known for the distinctive screeching and clicking noise that males make when attempting to attract females, have an abnormally long life cycle, with different groups lying dormant for 13 to 17 years before emerging to reproduce, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Cicadas have the longest life cycle of any insect, waiting 13 or 17 years to emerge.
These groups, or broods, are categorized based on the length of this life cycle, with the 13-year group dubbed Brood XIX and the 17-year group called Brood XIII.
More often than not, the broods emerge at different times, quickly mating, laying millions of eggs and then dying within a roughly five-week period. In that time, female cicadas lay up to 400 eggs, which start in tress then drop to the ground and burrow in for their long wait.
This year, however, both massive broods will emerge at the same time, starting in mid-May and ending in late June.
See the map of states where the different cicada broods will emerge
Affected states include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia.
Cicadas 2024: 2 broods to emerge together in US for first time in over 200 years
Should I be concerned about cicadas?
Cicadas don’t carry disease, bite or sting, but they also cannot be effectively controlled by pesticides. For those in affected states, this may mean a particularly loud spring and early summer to come with a side of sweeping bug corpses off of sidewalks, roads and driveways.
They can be harmful to the growth of some young trees but can also be beneficial to the health of the ecosystem, aerating soil and providing nutrients.
Of course, that doesn’t make their mating calls, which can produce sounds as high as least 90 decimals, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, any more pleasant to the human year. Best be prepared with noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs if you live in any of the lucky states.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cicada map: States where historic broods will emerge this spring