Why Do Cicadas Live Underground for So Long? | Tumble Episode
- tumblepodcast
- Apr 26, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Dec 18, 2025

You may have heard their song, but have you heard their story? In our latest episode, cicada scientist Chris Simon helps us dig into the surprising science of cicadas - and figure out how they’re changing!
Learn more about cicada history in our in our bonus interview extra on Patreon!
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🔎About The Featured Expert
Chris Simon is a senior research scientist at the University of Connecticut in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Among many other things, Chris and her lab research systematics, biogeography, and the evolution of cicadas.
An Emergence for the Ages
Here's an interview with Chris where she discusses the 2024 periodical cicada emergence:
To learn more about this emergence, check out UConn's resource page. They also have information on how climate change impacts periodical cicadas. On their main resource page, there's a super neat map that displays where broods will emerge!

Don't forget to check out Cicada Safari! If you live in the area covered by this year's emergence, you can download the app and submit your own observations of when and where you find periodical cicadas. This will help scientists learn more about periodical cicadas.

Here are the download links for the App Store and for Google Play.
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