Today, Explained
Cicada time
May 16, 2024
Benji Jones, an environmental reporter at Vox, shares his fascination with cicadas, which last emerged during Thomas Jefferson's presidency. He discusses their remarkable life cycle and the rare return of Brood 13 and Brood 19 after over 200 years. The noise they make has even prompted calls to the police! Jones highlights cicadas' ecological impact, providing food for birds and other species, and explores the bizarre relationship between cicadas and the zombie fungus that alters their behavior, showcasing the intricacies of nature.
25:55
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Quick takeaways
- Cicadas synchronize emergence based on soil temperature, transforming ecosystems with noise as loud as a jet engine.
- Predators like birds experience a surge in populations due to cicada emergence, altering food chains and impacting seed dispersal mechanisms.
Deep dives
The Phenomenon of Periodical Cicadas Emergence
Billions of cicadas, after more than a decade underground, are emerging, creating a noise as loud as a jet engine. Co-emergence of two broods, Brood 13 and Brood 19, is occurring for the first time in 200 years, making this event highly rare. The cicadas, with a unique life cycle spent mostly underground as nymphs, emerge to mate after years of feeding on tree sap. They synchronize their emergence based on the soil temperature and can transform entire ecosystems.
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