Truly fascinating, right? Once every 17 years they hatch, live for a few days, feed all the carnivores, lay massive eggs, then die off, not to be seen or heard again for another 17 years…
For a stunning Cicada photo, click here to see our “Pic of the Day” by Shikhei Goh.
The birth and death of Periodical Cicadas is by far the best and rarest natural phenomenon that occurs on our planet earth. Cicadas are spectacular insects often making dramatic and sudden appearances.
Having fed the predators, the cicadas leave one last gift for the forest when they die. The nutrients that cicadas have taken for seventeen years (while underground) are all given back at once (when they die). This brings an excellent growth for the trees. This is regarded as the single largest dose of fertilizer in the nature.
