Millions of cicadas are about to swarm the East Coast. Don’t panic! It’s totally normal.
These cicadas, known as periodical cicadas, have been 6 feet underground for 17 years. From June to August, they will come above ground in waves in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.
“The numbers we’re talking about are millions of periodical cicadas in the range of about 1.5 million per acre,” Dr. John Abbott said. Abbott is the director of museum research and collections at The University of Alabama. “I’m sure some people will equate their emergence to an apocalyptic plague unfortunately, but it is what it is.”