Summer of the Cicadas

Every 17 years the Cicadas emerge, a phenomenon that is exclusive to North America and astounding to anyone lucky/unfortunate enough to witness their emergence. Life cycles of 13 and 17 years make these insects easy to track but that doesn't diminish their unusual nature. Every 17 years (or 13 in some cases) the cicadas emerge once the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees. Early in the morning they dig their way out of their underground burrows, shed their skin and crawl towards the tree canopy. In a blink of the eye, their wings extend, harden in the newfound sun and they fly. From the treetops the males call out to the females who, when receptive, engage the males in a series of wing clicks and insect dancing. Once they have mated the females cut slits into tree branches where they deposit thousands of eggs, and when their duty is finished they die. The eggs hatch after a few weeks, the larva fall to the ground, dig down to the tree roots and wait, until it is there turn 17 years later. We have been fortunate to witness this process first hand while hiking through New York, and it has been miraculous to see.