Cicada Cam Comes to Discovery to Kick off 'Cicada Week'

As Brood X cicadas begin to emerge from the ground by the billions to reach the end of their 17-year life cycle, Discovery is giving viewers a chance to get up close and personal with these creepy crawlers 24/7 — without getting too close and personal. First there was Shark Week, now get ready for Cicada Week, as Discovery live streams this historic event all day and all night with night-vision technology on the Cicada Cam.

Cicada-curious viewers can tune in across Discovery's social accounts and on the Discovery website to watch the bugs emerge in real-time for their mating season over the next few weeks live on the Cicada Cam. Catching the cicadas at night, when they're most active, is the best way to get a look at everything they're up to, especially with the assistance of Discovery's night vision cameras. Here's where you can tune in:

• Discovery's YouTube
• Discovery's Facebook
• Discovery's Twitter
• Discovery.com/cicadas

It's been 17 years since this group of periodical cicadas, called Brood X, has emerged topside, as they've spent almost two decades underground feeding on sap from the roots of plants. Cicadas are expected to emerge mostly across the east coast when soil temperatures reached 64 degrees, which experts have predicted this year would be late April or early May. Once they emerge, it's impossible to miss these noisy insects, whose distinctive call can be heard as they begin their mating season and start looking for a partner with which to breed.

The cicadas will then lay their eggs, which will hatch four to six weeks later. Their offspring will then repeat the cycle and burrow their way back underground until they emerge 17 years from now. While Brood X is one of the largest broods of cicadas, there are also annual cicadas that appear every year, albeit in far smaller numbers and breadth. Brood X cicadas also have a wide geographical range, reaching 15 states and the District of Columbia.

Here's where the Brood X cicadas are expected to emerge this year: Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Brood X cicadas come much earlier than their annual relatives and in much larger numbers, so the first wave of cicadas you see most likely won't be the last, although things should taper off as the summer goes on.