Cicadas 2024: Brood XIX and XIII will impact our ecosystems for years to come

This spring is a very good time to be a bird.
In forests across the Midwest and Southeast, the ground is about to erupt with billions of loud, protein-packed cicadas. They’ll buzz about for a few weeks as they search for mates, providing snacks for pretty much every living creature in the forest, from songbirds and swans to frogs and even fish.
This is an especially big year for these…