Individually, periodical cicadas aren’t especially noisy, but when they cluster, their collective song can get as loud as a gas-powered lawnmower. Professor Kasey Fowler-Finn holds one in St. Louis last month. Zach Dyer/KFF Health News hide caption
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Cicadas from brood XIX are seen on a tree in Angelville, Ga., in May. Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A cicada perches on a picnic table in front of Nolde Mansion in Cumru Township, PA in May 2021. New research shows that these insects urinate in a surprising way. Ben Hasty / MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images hide caption
Scientists studied how cicadas pee. Their insights could shed light on fluid dynamics
A cicada sheds its nymph shell in Chevy Chase, Md., during the emergence of Brood X in May 2021. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption
An ant is host of the parasitic Ophiocordyceps fungus. Katja Schulz/Flickr hide caption
Trillions of cicadas are emerging in the U.S. Scientists say Brood X is one of the biggest for these bugs, which come out only once every 17 years. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption
Cincinnati police say a cicada is responsible for causing a driver to crash their car into a pole. Cincinnati Police Department hide caption
A cicada that have been living underground reemerges in Washington in May. Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images hide caption
An illustrated portrait of American author, astronomer and farmer Benjamin Banneker from the mid- to late-18th century. He's credited as being a surveyor, farmer, mathematician and astronomer. Stock Montage/Getty Images hide caption
A Black Scientist Was An Early Cicada Researcher. His Work Has Been Mostly Overlooked
Album Leaf of Flowers and Insects, bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia, 1985.904.6 Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College/Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum hide caption
Brood X Is Back — But Cicadas Have Been In Chinese Art For Millennia
Adult periodical cicadas in Reston, Virginia on May 16, 2004 Richard Ellis/Getty Images hide caption
In parts of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, cicadas will climb out of the ground for their once-in-17-year mating cycle. Scientists have dubbed this grouping brood IX. Stephen Jaffe/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A newly emerged adult cicada dries its wings on a tree in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
Cicadas live underground and emerge in 13- or 17-year cycles. Stephen Jaffe/AFP/Getty Images hide caption