It pretty much goes without saying by now that 2020 has absolutely no chill . And since we’re only about halfway through the year that never ends, it’s definitely not done throwing anything and everything it can at us. Why? Why not.
The latest and greatest test of our patience with this godforsaken year comes in the form of cicadas. You know, those little bugs that hiss and sing when it gets too hot outside?
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Well, I hope you can tolerate them because there’s a bunch coming our way this summer.
Apparently, these buzzing insects are expected to emerge from the ground after 17 years of sleep to swarm parts of the U.S.
So not only are murder hornets a real thing we have to deal with, but now we have to deal with millions of cicadas stretching their wings and delivering what is quite possibly the most annoying wake up call ever.
Oh, and by “millions” I mean 17 million .
So wait, why have these bad boys been living under ground for 17 years?
Well, according to National Geographic , there are actually over 3,000 species of cicadas, and while some reappear annually, others will disappear for either 13 or 17 years.
As for just what exactly they’re doing while laying low beneath our feet, experts aren’t really sure. In fact, a press release from Virginia Tech’s Department of Entomology declared their underground behavior to be “one of the great mysteries of the insect world.”
The areas most likely to witness this reemergence phenomenon are Southwest Virginia, some parts of North Carolina, and West Virginia.
Luckily, as annoying as they can be to listen to, cicadas are totally harmless to humans.
“Communities and farms with large numbers of cicadas emerging at once may have a substantial noise issue,” Eric Day, Virginia Cooperative Extension entomologist in Virginia Tech’s Department of Entomology, told CNN . “Hopefully, any annoyance at the disturbance is tempered by just how infrequent — and amazing — this event is.”
While they don’t pose any risk to people, cicadas can be a threat orchids, vines, and trees.
This is because the female insects can cause some serious damage when laying their eggs. As described in Virginia Tech’s press release, “Cicada females select pencil-width branches or vines, then implant their eggs into them using a sharp egg laying tube called an ovipositor.”
After they hatch, the nymphs will burrow themselves and begin feeding on the plants’ roots. Believe it or not, this isn’t the part that’s harmful to the tree — it’s the egg implantation process that can wither and split branches.
But don’t worry, because unlike most everything else that 2020 has thrown at us, we at least know when this latest curve-ball will end.
These periodic booms typically only last four to six weeks before they disappear again. The nymphs who hatched from tree eggs will eventually burrow themselves deep into the soil where they’ll remain for another 13 to 17 years before the cycle starts again.
But 2020 should be over before that happens. Hopefully. Honestly, who knows anymore?
h/t: Virginia Tech , Nat Geo , CNN
