Since 1996 billions of cicadas have been under the earth, maturing. Now that it's 2013, these bulging red-eyed cicadas are about to emerge any day.The cicadas, known as Brood II, will swarm over the U.S. East Coast and span approximately over a 900-mile stretch from Georgia towards New York. This particular group of cicadas is one of the largest in population, and numbers range from 30 billion to 1 trillion.
Along with the billions of cicadas comes a natural predator, a wasp species known as Sphecius speciosus, more commonly called the "cicada killer." Sometimes called sand hornets, they are the largest of the wasp species and they hunt, paralyze and feed on cicadas. They grow to be over two inches long and are black and yellow striped and can sting.
Experts said that the cicada killer wasps may not alleviate the 2013 cicada population by that much, which will reportedly outnumber humans 600 to 1.
"With the large swarms of cicadas emerging over the next few weeks, you can expect many more cicada killers. But even they won't be able to keep up with the swarms coming," meteorologist Brad Panovich said to WCNC.
Even so, the presence of the cicada killers will benefit the trees that the cicadas tend to destroy and infect with disease.
"Many people are scared of this large, ugly looking insect, but they are completely harmless," Pavonich said.
When the cicadas arrive, so will their distinct mating sound, often equated with summer. There are 15 broods of cicadas in the U.S. and they emerge every 13 or 17 years as part of their life cycle. Almost every year, some places are overrun with them as they settle on the branches of trees, singing their mating call.
"When there's a lot of them together, it's like this hovering noise. It sounds exactly like flying saucers from a 1950s movie," Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, Chris Simon said.
Both cicadas and the cicada killer wasps are harmless to humans, although you do not want to upset a killer wasp. They rarely sting humans, unless provoked, get caught on clothing or stepped on with bare feet. Check out the video after the jump to see the cicada killer in action.
