Will Wyoming Have Gross Scary Guests This Year?

Wyoming has 20 different annual Cicada species, but will we see more in 2024? Luckily, probably not any more than usual. Some parts of the country will see more than usual because of a rare double brood.

In Spring 2024, weeks after the April 8 total solar eclipse, two broods of periodical cicadas will emerge, and billions of bugs will begin to cover parts of the U.S.

We'll luck out in the Cowboy State and miss the craziness here.

Experts are predicting more than a trillion Cicadas could emerge throughout the U.S. The double brood of Cicadas, which haven't emerged at the same time in over 200 years, will hit states like Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

According to experts from Birds & Blooms, there are two types of Cicadas. Annual and Periodical.

Annual cicadas spend about 2 years eating underground. Adults emerge every year for mating. Periodical cicadas eat and grow for either 13 or 17 years, depending on the species. All periodical cicadas emerge at more or less the same time in those years, usually in late spring.

Wyoming is home to 20 species of annual Cicadas. They are responsible for that loud, annoying, buzzing sound you hear every summer. They live in your shrubs, sagebrush, and grassland areas.

Wyoming's 20 Annual Cicadas:

• Giant Grassland Cicada
• Dog-day Cicada
• Putnam's Cicada
• Plains Cicada
• Mountain Cicada
• Walker's Cicada
• Okanagana Cruentifera
• Okanagana Fratercula
• Okanagana Hesperia
• Okanagana luteobasalis
• Okanagana Magnifica
• Say's Cicada
• Okanagana stiatipes
• Walking Cicada
• Salmonfly Cicada

Besides being annoying and polluting the air with their loud buzzing sound, Cicadas aren't harmful to humans. They don't cause much, if any, damage to trees and are an essential food for migrating birds.