8 May 2021.

Introduction:

Cicadas are the world longest living insects. They are winged, red eyed insects that live underground feeding on the roots. They emerge from the underground once in 12-17 years. Recently, it has been predicted that a group of Cicadas called the “Brood X Cicadas” are to emerge across the mid-Atlantic for the first time since 2004.

About Cicadas

• In 1634, pilgrims in Massachusetts witnessed the insects springing from the earth.
• They called them “locusts” as they emerged in swarms.
•  However, they are not harmful like locusts. This is because they mainly feed on tree leaves. This was the first written record of Cicadas.
•  Around seven species of Cicadas emerge every 13 to 17 years in the East coast and mid west of the US.

What is Brood X?

• Brood X is  the biggest of the fifteen known Cicadas. 
• They are to emerge in Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, Washington DC, Indiana. 
• Cicadas molt as they emerge from underground.
• Molt is to shed skin or hair or feathers paving way for the new growth.
•  The molts add up to the  nutrients to the soil.
• The total biomass of cicadas is greater than the biomass of cattle the area can support if it were to be turned into pastures.
• There are more than three thousand Cicadas on the earth. However, only seven are periodical. Some believe that the long underground periods are to avoid predators.

Cicadas

• As they emerge from the underground, they live in trees feeding on leaves. 
• The desert Cicadas regulate their body temperatures by evaporative cooling.