Cicada Emergence and Lifecycle

Periodical cicadas emerge after 13 and 17 years underground, with trillions of them crawling out from the soil across 17 states in the Midwestern and Eastern U.S. These cicadas go through a complex lifecycle, hatching from eggs in tree branches, dropping to the ground as nymphs to feed on tree roots, and eventually transforming into adult cicadas after climbing trees. The insects emerge at night en masse, shedding their nymph shells to become adults, which are black with red eyes and orange-tinted wings. The cycle's synchronization with soil temperature and tree leaf development marks their emergence.