17 years in the root of a tree

The Cicadas are quite difficult to ignore. Anyone on the East Coast probably has realized this by now due to the constant drum of a buzzy hum. You can even hear them over the garbage disposal and the air conditioning, which is very impressive. There must be a substantial amount of them to be so strongly heard. It is really uncanny. I don't believe I had heard anything about them until I read some article about cooking Cicadas. Apparently they live in the roots of trees for 17 years and then they make their way to mate and leave eggs and die. It's a bit like Salmon, but I don't believe they have 17 years.

The sounds are while they are attracting mates, I guess they don't flirt at night as it is quiet now.


The infamous mating of cicadas. Taken by Vladimer Shioshvili.