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Nature & Environment

Billions of 17-year bugs to erupt from ground

By T.K. Randall
April 11, 2013 · Comment icon  comments

Image Credit: CC 3.0 Ettore Balocchi
In an unusual event, billions of cicadas are due to awaken en-masse along American's East Coast.
The slumbering insects sleep for a period of 17 years before emerging in their billions for just one month for the purpose of finding a mate. While the cicadas don't pose a threat to humans it is expected that they will still cause quite a disturbance. "It'll be noisy. There's no getting around the noise," said entomologist Craig Gibbs. "That's just the males looking for females. What's noisy to a human is the sound of love to another cicada."

This particular species of cicada is one of nature's own mysteries, living almost its entire life underground and emerging for only a short time. The exact time and date of this year's emergence is unknown however it usually takes place between April and May when the temperature and conditions are just right.[!gad]The slumbering insects sleep for a period of 17 years before emerging in their billions for just one month for the purpose of finding a mate. While the cicadas don't pose a threat to humans it is expected that they will still cause quite a disturbance. "It'll be noisy. There's no getting around the noise," said entomologist Craig Gibbs. "That's just the males looking for females. What's noisy to a human is the sound of love to another cicada."

This particular species of cicada is one of nature's own mysteries, living almost its entire life underground and emerging for only a short time. The exact time and date of this year's emergence is unknown however it usually takes place between April and May when the temperature and conditions are just right.
Billions of love-lorn cicadas are set to awaken from a 17-year slumber to infest East Coast of the US with a buzzing racket that compares in magnitude to the sound of a New York subway train.


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