And the It's the Brian Laird Show on WNYC.

Welcome back everybody.

I'm Bridget Bergen, filling in for Brian today. And that buzzing you just

heard was the sound of millions of desperate cicadas looking for a mate. If you live in parts of the Midwest or the Southeast, you probably

know that sound and maybe considering an investment in some nice noise cancelling

headphones. After years underground, two massive groups of cicadas are crawling out of the earth at once from

northern Illinois to the Carolinas and they are loud.

It's been reported that it's so noisy in one part of South Carolina

that some people are mistaking the sound for construction and calling the police.

Well you'll hear some cicadas every summer these groups or

broods only emerge every 13 or 17 years and it's rare for two broods to

emerge at once. This is the first time these two will be emerging together. for two

to emerge at once. This is the first time these two will be emerging together since

1803.

So here to explain why this is happening and the effect these bugs can have not just on our ears but on our ecosystem is Vox senior

environmental reporter Benji Jones. Benji welcome to the show.

Hey Bridget good to be with you. And listeners, do you have any burning questions about this dual

emergence or just about cicadas in general? Now is your time. We'd love to also hear from any

listeners in the Midwest or Southeast who are seeing

the cicadas, more likely hearing them, emerge around them. Give us a call 2 and 2.

433 WNYC.

That's 212 433 9692.

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