What DO cicadas do? Everything you need to know about sex-crazed insects as ... trends now
Trillions of slumbering, sex-crazed cicadas are expected to reemerge across the US starting this month in an insect event which has not happened in over 200 years.
For the first time since 1803, the odd-numbered, 13 to 17-year cycles of two different large broods of cicada will finally intersect — unleashing a deafening, noisy mating season for these insects across over a dozen US states.
Cicada experts say that the two North American variations of the species can produce an alarming call as loud as 105.9 decibels, or 'as loud as a lawn mower.'
The owners can also make dogs and cats sick, if pet owners are not careful.
But, while the bizarre, loud creatures are already inspiring 911 calls for their plague-like Biblical swarms, and raising alarm over their unique fungal parasites, the US Environmental Protection Agency notes cicadas do bring key ecological benefits.
One thing which makes the cicada so interesting is its ability to harden their exoskeletons - which takes about five days - shedding its old exterior in order to begin flying
The infestation is set for 16 states, with some states like Illinois and Indiana seeing both groups around the same time
Cicadas are a valuable food source for birds and other predators,' the US EPA noted.
And, via the burrows that young 'nymphs' dig to avoid predators and feed on sap from tree roots, 'cicadas can aerate lawns and improve water filtration into the ground,' according to the EPA.
Here's what cicadas are likely to do during this historic summer wave.
Cicadas make a lot of noise'When they say it's as loud as a lawn mower, it is as loud as a lawn mower,' Dr Paula Shrewsbury, a professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, said of the bugs' chorus of noise.
'We live near an airport, and when the planes are flying over [...] cicadas crank up their sound level,' Shrewsbury told CNN this April, 'it's like they're competing with the airplanes for sound.'
While cicada songs vary by species, the noises always play a vital role in their communication, reproduction, and even defense for each variation of the insect.
But it is the cicadas' mating call that Americans can expect to hear most this year.
Male cicadas will produce their loud, high-pitched whine long into the night as the attract mates, vibrating thin, ridged parts of their exoskeleton — called tymbals — at an astounding 300 to 400 sound waves per second.
Cicadas across the Southeast and Midwest will be arriving in the trillions, according to the University of Connecticut
The two broods of cicadas coming in 2024 are expected to live for around one month
The noise, sometimes described as a pulsating buzz akin to salt and pepper shakers and sometimes a piercing whine, is magnified by the male cicadas' hollow abdomen, which helps create a powerful echo effect.
As the male cicadas congregate in trees to attract mates, their combined activity forms a discordant and shrill chorus heated by their sexual passions.
'Females also make sounds to attract males,' according to biologists at Arizona State
