Cicadas are out in the trillions and citizen scientists are rejoicing
As Randy Emmitt navigates a wooded lot, he notices a couple of things: patches of sunlight coming through the trees, and a near-inability to make out any sound other than a persistent screeching.
It doesn’t take long for him to duck inside his van, out of necessity.
“The cicadas are so loud,” he tells the Monitor over the phone from Hillsborough, North Carolina. “I can’t hear you.”
You can’t walk around without feeling like they’re practically on top of you, he says.
But the swarms and piercing screams enveloping much of the Tar Heel State haven’t stopped Mr. Emmitt from doing what he loves – venturing out to track the insects down. Over the past couple weeks, he estimates he’s traveled to seven or
