The historic cicada invasion is upon us!

Noisy flying insects known as cicadas have begun emerging from the ground and have been spotted buzzing around North Carolina and South Carolina before they will eventually appear across 15 other states. 

The one to two-inch-long bugs are rising from the soil and growing wings before they then start a frantic mating frenzy lasting several weeks.

Billions, if not trillions, of two groups of cicadas will appear in 17 U.S. states over the coming months in a rare natural phenomenon not seen since 1803.

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It is the first time in 221 years that two types of cicadas — brood XIX and XIII — have risen from the ground at the same time, back when Thomas Jefferson was president, and it is not expected to happen again until 2244. 

The bugs possess sturdy bodies, bulging compounded red eyes and membranous wings with a three-inch wingspan.

The two broods together will span parts of 17 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin, according to the United States Forest Service.

Newly released video shows swarms of cicadas climbing up a tree, while in other footage the insects can be seen flying under the lights of a canopy, swarming a nearby wall and crawling on the ground. 

“It is a pretty amazing phenomenon, I mean, it’s unique,” Eric Benson, a professor emeritus and extension entomologist at Clemson University in South Carolina, told Fox News Digital last month.

“They’re one of the longest-lived insects that we know and the fact that a bug can be underground for 13 years or 17 years, and then almost at the exact same time, they all come out of the ground synchronized,” Benson said. “It’s amazing to me. It’s one of nature’s cooler phenomena in the world.”

A USDA Forest Service map showing cicada brood emergence from April to May 2024 in the eastern United States. The areas in red show where Brood XIII, a 17-year brood, is expected to emerge. The areas in blue show where Brood XIX, a 13-year brood, is expected to emerge. The area in yellow shows where these brood emergences are expected to overlap in Illinois.  (USDA Forest Service graphic)

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There are around 190 species of cicadas all over the world, but only in the eastern United States can you find the periodical cicadas, which emerge every 13 or 17 years. 

Cicadas are not harmful to humans, pets, household gardens or crops, the EPA says. They are also a valuable food source for birds and mammals. 

According to one social media video, turkeys have been feasting on cicadas. The video, posted on X, shows a dead turkey with its crop cut open, revealing at least a dozen cicadas that the bird had been gobbling up. 

“Even back in history, Native Americans ate cicadas because all of a sudden you’re provided with all this amazing protein falling in your lap,” Benson said. 

The busiest period of activity for cicadas is from now through early June, and they usually appear after a nice soaking of rain when the temperature of the ground hits 64 degrees, Benson explained.

“They’ll crawl up on a surface, usually the trunk of a tree, or it could be on the side of your house, a car, a fence or whatever. They’re insects, so they have to shed their skin to get to the next stage, and they will go through their final molt where they pull out of their immature skin, and they will be in their adult skin, which will have wings,” Benson said. 

“They’ll molt, expand their wings, harden up and when they’re ready they’ll fly up into the trees.”

He said that eventually the cicadas will mate in a noisy fashion and then the females will deposit their eggs onto tree branches. They will hatch and fall into the ground where they will stay for the next 13 or 17 years before the process repeats. 

So many cicadas will make noise at once in some places that sound levels might reach upward of 90 to 120 decibels, equivalent to a gas-powered lawnmower or motorcycle, the U.S. Forest Service says. 

Meanwhile, the mating cicadas will die off and homeowners will be left hoping that the dead carcasses do not land in their gardens as they can smell badly if they die in large numbers together.

Several brood XIX cicadas crawl on the ground at the University of North Carolina on May 1, 2024. Billions of two groups of cicadas are set to appear in 17 U.S. states in a rare natural phenomenon not seen since 1803. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Females laying their eggs on small tree branches can harm young trees and the EPA advises covering maturing saplings in mesh or netting to keep the insects out.

Experts also advise homeowners to cover pools, patio furniture or similar items from cicada or their droppings when they are active.

Brood XIII cicadas appear on a 17-year cycle, and are restricted mostly to northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin and a few counties in extreme northwestern Indiana, according to entomologist Floyd Shockley of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington. 

Brood XIX emerges on a slightly shorter 13-year cycle, and are widely distributed from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia – a total of 15 states, according to Shockley. The two broods together span parts of 17 states.

These two broods overlap only in a small area in central Illinois and sometimes in Indiana. They are close enough potentially to have some interbreeding between broods.

A Brood XIX cicada crosses a brick path on campus at the University of North Carolina on May 1, 2024. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Arizona State University officials say a postdoctoral research scholar remains on leave as the school investigates his videotaped confrontation with a hijab-wearing woman at a pro-Israel rally last weekend.

Sunday’s event was held near the university’s Tempe campus and attended by Jonathan Yudelman, a scholar at ASU’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.

Yudelman was identified on multiple social media platforms as being in a brief cellphone video that shows him arguing and cursing at the unidentified woman who appeared to be a Muslim wearing a tan-colored head scarf.

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“I’m literally in your face. That’s right,” Yudelman tells the woman, who is seen in the video backing away as he repeatedly advances toward her.

After the woman tells Yudelman that he’s disrespecting her religious boundaries, he replies “you disrespect my sense of humanity” and adds a profanity.

The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has called for the university to fire Yudelman.

A statement posted Wednesday on the school’s media relations webpage said Yudelman was placed on leave Monday pending the outcome of an investigation into the video. It also said he’s not permitted to go on campus, teach classes or interact with students or employees.

“The current investigation is being conducted consistent with the university’s procedures for employee discipline,” the statement added. “Arizona State University protects freedom of speech and expression but does not tolerate threatening or violent behavior. While peaceful protest is welcome, all incidents of violent or threatening behavior will be addressed.”

University officials said they referred the matter to the Tempe Police Department for a criminal investigation since it took place on a city sidewalk.

Yudelman hasn’t replied to several emails this week seeking comment on his situation.

He was interviewed by Phoenix television station KPNX before the confrontation and decried what he described as “Jewish students being intimidated.”

In the interview, Yudelman also described pro-Palestinian protests at universities across the country as “campuses being taken over by supporters of terrorism.”