All of that preparation has been leading up to this moment when they surface in droves-up to 1.4 million cicadas per acre-to molt into their adult form, sing their deafening love song and produce the next generation before dying just a few weeks later. They have been underground ever since, feeding on sap from the rootlets of grasses and trees and slowly maturing. The newly hatched cicada nymphs fell from the trees and burrowed into the dirt. This generation got its start back in 2004, when Facebook existed only at Harvard University and Friends aired its last episode. I’m talking about the emergence of the Brood X cicadas.Įvery 17 years the billions of constituents of Brood X tunnel up from their subterranean lairs to spend their final days partying in the sun. Although it may lack the epic majesty of the wildebeest migration in the Serengeti or the serene beauty of cherry blossom season in Japan, this event is no less awe-inspiring. Credit: Nick HigginsĪt this very instant, in backyards and forests across the eastern U.S., one of nature’s greatest spectacles is underway. Follow Kate Wong on Twitter Credit: Nick HigginsĬherie Sinnen is a freelance illustrator based in California. She holds a bachelor of science degree in biological anthropology and zoology from the University of Michigan. Kate is co-author, with Donald Johanson, of Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins.

Her reporting has taken her to caves in France and Croatia that Neandertals once called home, to the shores of Kenya's Lake Turkana in search of the oldest stone tools in the world, to Madagascar on an expedition to unearth ancient mammals and dinosaurs, to the icy waters of Antarctica where humpback whales feast on krill, and on a 'Big Day' race around the state of Connecticut to find as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. Recently she has become obsessed with birds. She is fascinated by human origins, which she has covered for more than 25 years. Kate Wong is an award-winning science writer and senior editor at Scientific American focused on evolution, ecology, anthropology, archaeology, paleontology and animal behavior. Follow Kate Wong on Twitter Credit: Nick Higgins Cherie Sinnen

Cicada locust