Suffering Cicadas, They're All Over the Place!!!

The cicadas are here! The cicadas are here! Well, the periodical cicadas, anyway. A few cicadas (say se-KAY-das ) are around every summer, but you hardly ever notice them. What on Earth, you say, are periodical ones?

They're noisy, black, inch-long, red-eyed, winged insects that pull off one of the neatest tricks in nature! And if you live in the eastern United States, chances are you're learning much more about them.

These cicadas came from eggs planted long ago in tree branches. Tiny, six-legged nymphs hatched out of them, fell to the ground, and scurried down into the soil. Once underground, they settled down on the tree roots and began to feed. Then they stayed down there, nice and snug, sucking sap for 17 years. That's right, 17 years! Periodical cicadas are North America's longest-lived insects.

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