Why Do Cicadas Stay Underground for So Long?

Everyone's favorite east coast soundscape.

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[chrisbort]

I'm in south east Alabama, I go outside and it sounds like a anime establishing shot. 😃🇺🇸

[ilfardrachadi]

Cicada season is the most relaxing time of year for me, they produce a constant white noise that blots out my tinnitus and lets me actually get some sleep.

[JohnDrummondPhoto]

I live in New York, which has annual cicadas but no periodicals. I finally experienced Brood 10 this year when visiting my daughter, who recently moved to Maryland. Unbelievable! I finally realized what the call of the giant ants in the classic movie "Them!" really is. My daughter had just gotten a puppy as a gift for her mother, and the puppy gorged herself on cicadas in the yard. Now she expects every insect she sees to taste like cicadas, and she's repeatedly disappointed. 😂

[mflinch]

Hearing locusts singing in the trees takes me back 40 years to my childhood and the good ol' hot summer days

[flynnwhite]

A cicada asked me the opposite question "why do humans spend their entire lives above ground, but only when they die go under ground?" I said "because we don't want them stinking up the place." The cicada said "Same for us! But we like to party before we die."

[gildedpeahen]

My dad was not given a middle name at birth, and so when I was a kid he asked me to give him a middle name and I picked cicada.... He's an animal loving Buddhist and a very eccentric character so it truly suits him perfectly....
🖤🖤Fraser Cicada George🖤🖤
I live in the Midwest while he and my mum moved back to New Zealand, our homeland after I grew up....so recounting this story truly brings joy to my heart.

[InterstellarKev]

Cicada: I exist to be born, eat, sleep, play loud music, have sex, make kids, and die.

Me: Ah we are not that different you and I.

[adammitchell]

These things can be absolutely defening in their song....glad you covered this one whistle boi, it's a story that is particularly relevant to me, considering that I live in an area where these things obviously flourish

[SwiftCreationStudio]

Biden: The plane isn't going
Cicada: I can make it sound like it's going if that helps

[bigtater]

What you're explainin is truly an amazin, surreal experience. I live in Southwest Pennsylvania. I was born and raised here, in the heart of Appalachia. In the woods. I have experienced this three times in my life so far. I'm 40. It's so cool to hear someone from across the pond talkin about it. My hat's off to you sir.

[MasterArchfiend]

Hunting for cicada shells as a kid and the fact they inspired my favorite Ghost type in Pokemon made them one of my favorite insects.

[daisybelle]

Cicadas were absolutely INSANE in NOVA this year.
Earlier this Summer, you couldn't walk out your door without them landing on you. They were leaving their exo skeletons absolutely everywhere, swarming trees, bushes, cars..and insanely loud. I'm originally from NorCal, so being around the massive swarms this year, so crazy!

[katecrown]

Yeah I was a kid the last time this happened so I didn’t remember how crazy it was. And this year I went on a two week vacation when they started emerging. When we were crossing the river back into MD, i said it sounded like someone nearby was having car trouble. Seconds later these huge bugs started hitting my windshield, and I made the same face as Ron Weasley when he hit the whomping willow with his car. Terrified. 😂

[DingusKhan.]

I remember hearing these dude nearly every summer when I was a kid. I remember finding their shells all over the place. I grew up in a small town called Snyder, we lived in a valley area where the tornados never really bothered us. Their sound would be especially present when the sky turned green (meaning a storm was brewing)

[tsmall]

It's amazing how localized they are. Where I live they clogged our lives for over a month, but 20 minutes south, they barely got any.

[tswims]

17 years ago was even crazier. It was when the 17, 13, and yearly cicadas all lined up. They were absolutely everywhere. Like covered literally everything.

[mrkingsudo]

Summer just isn't the same here in Arizona without hearing the constant screams of horny bugs.

[kamron_thurmond]

I live in Southeast Texas and I couldn't imagine a summer without them. When I was a kid they used to annoy me, but now I love them. I find the songs a relaxing & somewhat comforting.

[artbyjennyray]

I'm in north Texas. We get cicadas every year. They're the sound of summer... it's like the trees are screaming.

[dannahbanana]

I live in one of those places where the calls get deafening when the 17 year cicadas come out. It's loud even without them, but when they join in It's really incredible how loud they are.