I feel a song coming on …
Paul Starosta/Stone via Getty images
Only male crickets have wing structures that produce sound, but females are very good at following the signal.
Cicadas climb up a tree at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., during the Brood X emergence in 2021.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The last time that these two groups of cicadas emerged from underground together, Thomas Jefferson was president.
Fotoz by David G/Shutterstock
Cicadas don’t need to bathe to stay clean.
You don’t need to watch where you step when it comes to bacteria.
Westend61/Getty Images
You can squash small bugs by stepping on them, but can you crush even tinier microorganisms like viruses and bacteria? It turns out that you’d need to apply a lot of pressure.
Metamorphosis of Lyriste plebejus: the cicada, finally out of the ground, transforms from the larval stage to its adult appearance.
Romain Garrouste
The Massif des Maures was devastated by fires this year, but the region’s hardy cicadas continued to sing thanks to their unique survival methods.
Periodical cicada in Washington, D.C., May 2017.
Katha Schulz/Flickr
One of the largest groups of 17-year cicadas, Brood X, last emerged from underground in 2004. The next generation will arrive starting in April.
Shutterstock
Learn how cicadas, the world’s loudest insects, create their cacophony, and why people in ancient Greece and ancient China admired them.