Brood X: Billions of cicadas begin emerging above ground in the US after 17 years

After 17 years underground, billions of red-eyed cicadas are beginning to crawl their way to the surface in portions of the United States. The periodical insects, known as Brood X or Brood 10, have begun emerging from the earth in 15 eastern states and Washington, D.C., from Georgia to New York and west to Indiana and Illinois.

Dr. Michael Raupp, a cicada enthusiast and Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Maryland called it a spectacular event like no other in the "entire universe," and talked about what we can expect.

"There will be birth. There will be death. There will be romance in the treetops. There will be wicked sex. There will be predators. It's going to be better than an episode of Game of Thrones..."

Adult cicadas live above ground for about three weeks. Once the cicadas mate, the females cut slits into tree branches, where they deposit 400 to 600 eggs. This year's cicada class will bore into the ground and won't emerge until 2038.

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