Sensational title, but true. Scientist expect between 30 billion and 1 trillion cicadas to come out of the ground to mate. And they have been waiting for this moment; 17 years to be precise…
A strange species which is best known for the extremely loud noise they make. The North-American variant is exceptional as it has a 17 year cycle of mating. And like all cicadas they sing to get a partner, a single insect can produce up to 120db so if they all pop up the noise is deafening.
The males "sing" a species-specific mating song; like other cicadas, they produce loud sounds using their tymbals. Singing males of a single Magicicada species form aggregations (choruses) that are sexually attractive to females. Males in these choruses alternate bouts of singing with short flights from tree to tree in search of receptive females. Most matings occur in "chorus" trees.
More info on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magicicada #EveryDayScience
Great post +Max Huijgen thanks!
I was camping in the woods of Wisconsin in the summer of 1989 when they emerged. We spent two months there, and for over two weeks, conversation was impossible. The shells cover the trees and ground, so everything is crunchy when you walk, and the sound itself is not just loud, it's like the sound of a jackhammer sped up to a higher pitch and frequency. When groups of them would sync up in timing, you could feel the waves hitting your ear drums.
All in all, it was pretty darn awesome for a 13 year old.
between 30 million and 1 trillion
Yay for margins of error.
Amazing animals..;-)
hard to predict species if you don´t see a complete generation for 17 years +Alex Balcázar 🙂
But I see I made an error in converting US units. Should have been 30 billion to 1 trillion.
I sometimes have one or two in my garden and they really annoy me. You can´t have a decent conversation. The thought of 30 billion or 1 trillion or even just 30 is enough…
Wait! They're only 17. They're not old enough to have sex.
I wonder if there is enough "Plan B" to go around?
If they are only 17 and have sex, you better put them in jail for that… 😛
Cicadas – A somewhat common occurrence here is Houston, Texas. The sound is amazingly loud, but somewhat soothing. I actually saw one spread its wings during the course of an evening on our neighbors porch.
SUPER
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