Everything You Need To Know About the Cicada Invasion

What’s up with the 2024 cicada invasion? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice learn all about cicadas and the multiple broods set to unleash this spring and summer with entomologist Jessica Ware. Why are they so noisy?

Learn why so many cicadas emerge all at once and about their life cycle. We explore th timbal organ and what makes for a really effective cicada mating call. What do they even do underground for 17 years? Jessica tells is about cicada larvae dropping down from trees and how human activities are impacting cicadas. Plus, learn why Neil has a two-year-old cicada in his freezer.

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Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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00:00 - Introduction: Cicadas
1:20 - Double Brood Emergence
2:45 - Why Evolution Kept Cicadas
5:40 - Why Cicadas Are So Noisy
9:50 - The Cicada Lifecycle
14:08 - Closing Thoughts: Sharing the Earth

[StarTalk]

Are you Midwesterners ready for the cicadas?!

[frankstrysik]

I have the rare pleasure of listening to those infernal insects every single summer so what's a trillion more? They make me appreciate winter.

[gvanys]

The fact they can live 17 years in the ground its mind blowing.

[DNTXPCTMCH]

I love her excitement in describing the cicadas! She loves nature❤

[sosskay]

If Neil and chuck were my teachers in science I would have passed 😂 these guys literally make learning in general fun

[DNTXPCTMCH]

The outro almost made me cry. We have to remember to look down too. If we don't look down, we don't see the ecosystems we live amoung. Nature gives me hope for tomorrow.

[thewatcher]

Never thought I’d find a conversation about Cicadas so fascinating.

[suchanhachan]

Here in Japan we have cicadas every Summer. It's one of the natural sounds of the season. In any Japanese movie or TV show, if they want to set the scene in Summer it will usually open with the sound of the cicadas singing...

[trybeingnice]

I TRULY loved the ending for this video. That is what makes you stand out from all other scientist Neil. God bless.

[lesal.]

The sound of cicadas is in every good childhood memory of summer!

[anthonyrhodes]

Chuck helps to bring everything to a laymans understanding. Just a great duo for learning

[Wodenseyes]

I understand that EVERYONE hates Cicadas, but I personally love them. The sounds of them singing can lull me to deep sleep. As a child in Kentucky my siblings were HORRIFIED of them, but I used to let them crawl around on my shirt then gently put them back to a tree. I have a cicada tattoo on my left hand because of my adoration for them. Also my fave internet mystery is Cicada 3301!!!

[Fridgepictures]

Neil is fantastic, the way he explains everything, space, bugs, everything he is the cool guy of science. I love him.

[biggens]

That is the sound of the summer evening twilight. No joke, hearing that sounds and smelling honeysuckle in the air brings me back to my childhood and Sweet memories of running around the yard and whole neighborhood smacking lightning bugs with a wiffle ball bat lol

[JillKnapp]

Also: Please don't try to poison the cicadas! We had an emergence in 2021 and it coincided with an absolutely horrific mysterious bird illness that affected songbirds. The best hypothesis was that uninformed people were using a ton of pesticides to get rid of the cicadas (this was during the darker days of covid so people were home and noticing the cicadas more than in other years, and also spending more time in their backyards). The birds went blind and then had seizures and bled... sometimes while their mates watched and freaked the eff out. It was the worst. So please, tell your neighbors: enjoy the cicadas, share the planet.

[rawbluecheese]

Great ep. We need Jessica back to speak on Dragonflies!

[dajw]

I live in Texas and the sound of the cicadas are the sound of summer and I love it. I love to sit outside drinking sweet tea and listening to the cicadas. It’s the most peaceful thing.

[harlitt]

The most important take-a-way from this show is spoken in the final minute

[marcusm]

Thank you Chuck for your respect and compassion.

[moritzwieding]

Following Startalk for a bit now and with your closing words of this episode you have earned my subscription :)