Billions of cicadas could soon invade the Eastern United States after spending a full 17 years underground
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himBillions of cicadas could soon invade the Eastern United States after spending a full 17 years underground. It looks like the plot of a horror film but it is a natural phenomenon that is highly anticipated and followed overseas.
In fact, every 17 years a species of “periodic” cicada (Magicicada septendecim) will re-emerge from the ground in vast areas of the USA and also spread to cities. These insects characterized by red eyes, a black and tapered body and orange wings, live for a long time underground and feed on the fluids from the roots of the plants to grow. Then, by a strange mechanism still little known, every 0 years they come back to the surface en masse.
The last such event for 15 states, including New York, Ohio, Illinois and Georgia, occurred in 2004. As a result, 2021 is the year of their return. They will pop up when temperatures are higher, during the spring and probably in mid-May.
"They can pile up by the millions in parks, woods, neighborhoods, and they can seemingly be anywhere," said Gary Parsons, an entomologist at Michigan State University. "When they are this abundant, they fly, land and crawl everywhere, even occasionally on humans."
Parsons argues that while such creatures are not dangerous to humans, they can make pets sick if they eat them. The long underground development is thought to help cicadas survive predators.
A loud noise will accompany them
Their arrival is far from silent. Moving en masse, they will make themselves felt and how. Males in particular emit mating calls that can reach 100 decibels, equal to the noise produced by a motorbike accelerating.
But experts reassure: if people are able to forget the noise and surprise of a cicadas-covered sky or city, they will be able to appreciate a rare wonder of the natural world.
The return of the cicadas is
"A wonderful opportunity for millions of people to witness and enjoy an extraordinary biological phenomenon in their backyard that does not happen anywhere else on the planet," Michael Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland, told Newsweek.
One more reason to admire them: even if they are not at risk of extinction, for the IUCN they are "close to threat".
Sources of reference: The Guardian, Newsweek
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