Americans are scared because of strange sirens. The cicada apocalypse is to blame

Already in the past few days, the media reported that the USA is expecting a very intensive invasion of cicadas in the coming weeks; an insect that is characterized by emitting a very loud chirping sound. It was in South Carolina that they already felt the consequences of swarming first hand.

So the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement Tuesday via Facebook asking people not to call the police about loud noises. These are not sirens, as some residents believe, but male cicadas who try to lure females to mate with their “singing”.

The sound of a swarm of cicadas can be as loud as airplane engines, according to the AP. Scientists who study insects often wear earplugs to protect their hearing. “Although the sound can be annoying, cicadas pose no risk to people or pets. It’s just the sound of nature,” Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster wrote on Facebook.

Insect apocalypse

The cicada invasion is strong as for the first time in more than 200 years, two broods will spawn in the same year, returning in 13-year and 17-year cycles. The so-called periodic cicadas live as nymphs, i.e. larvae that do not pupate, but are hidden in the ground for years, so that at the end of the life cycle they climb to the surface, undress, mate as an adult and then die.

This extraordinary phenomenon is expected to affect parts of 16 states in the southeastern and midwestern United States in the coming weeks. Experts call the situation the cicada apocalypse.