They are numerous. They are patient. They are COMING for the United States in droves this spring: They are cicadas. *The* Cicada guy Dr. Gene Kritsky joins to chat all about the annual cicadas you may see every summer vs. the periodical ones that cycle through the states in broods of giant numbers. Learn how they survive underground for decades, what they are doing down there, and all about their lifecycle. Plus, get inspired to take a cicada safari and appreciate their songs, which can be as loud as an ambulance. By the end, you’ll want to don a bug costume and take a road trip to witness Brood XIV’s emergence this spring!

Dr. Gene Kritsky’s new cicada book The Pilgrims’ Promise: The 2025 Emergence of the Periodical Cicada Brood XIV

Download the Cicada Safari app at the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

Check out Dr. Kritsky’s website

Also see CicadaMania.com, and follow them on Instagram

A donation was made to Mount Saint Joseph’s cicada research in the School of Behavioral and Natural Sciences

Full-length (*not* G-rated) Cicadology episode + tons of science links

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Sound editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, and Steven Ray Morris

Made possible by work from Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Jacob Chaffee, Kelly R. Dwyer, Aveline Malek and Erin Talbert

Smologies theme song by Harold Malcolm