The eastern United States is witnessing a barrage of these insects that make an unbearable noise when trying to find a mate as soon as possible. Arthropods have begun to surface to mate, hence the deafening chant after 17 years of being underground and feeding on tree roots, waiting patiently under the ground. Billions of cicadas – large and noisy – are expected to appear, which could also damage crops.
Remember that these insects are not poisonous and they do not harm humans either (they do not bite, nor are they toxic), but the females lay many eggs on the branches, which can cause young trees not only to stop their growth, but also to it can even kill them. Of course, once the females lay, they die within a few hours.
Their massive (and inescapably noisy) mating frenzy follows a cycle . Once they emerge from the subsurface and dry their wings, they mate (whose loud hum is actually a mating song emitted by male insects, flexing a drum-like organ called a timpani) and then die, and their newborn young fall to the ground. and are buried for the next 17 years.
It is the biggest event since 2004
The insects are part of a group called Brood X , also known as Great Eastern Brood, which is expected in a geographic range that extends from Tennessee to New York, in the United States.
Certainly, although for farmers it can be a great nuisance, for biologists and passionate about these creatures, it is an incredible visual phenomenon. For its quantity.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a campaign on social networks so that the population does not engage in fumigation, since insecticides can affect other living beings and, in essence, the Periodic cicadas are harmless and serve as food for other animals. Their usual predators are foxes, squirrels, bats and other small mammals, as well as different types of birds.
Researchers are not sure exactly how many will surface, except that it will be in the billions, and they estimate that the numbers will be at least 1.5 million for every half hectare or so of land.
These insects emerge very pale and very small, even as small as “a grain of rice”, but once the cicadas are above the ground, they grow rapidly. After coming to light, the cicadas spend about a week maturing. Once they are fully grown, their main goal is mating, which is why the characteristic “love song” begins. Cicada choruses can reach 90 decibels , a noise level that is continuously disruptive and damaging. It is similar to the annoyance caused by a firemen’s siren at a short distance. From 75 decibels it is considered a noisy environment, according to the WHO.
Adult cicadas have already turned up in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia and their return is expected to last until the end of June.
