Periodical Cicadas Overrun the Forest | Planet Earth | BBC Earth

The biggest insect emergence on the planet is underway - after an absence of 17 years the next batch of Periodical Cicadas will grace the Forest for just a mere few days. For the Turtle and other Forest inhabitants this will be one very rare but ultimately satisfying banquet.

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[freddykingofturtles]

"They can't stop all of us" -Cicadas Every 17 years.

[thegamingpigeon]

Imagine spending 17 years of your life growing, maturing, and just waiting underground and when you finally emerge, you're eaten

[Dinoyipi]

Wasps: We have stingers to defend our home.
Moths: We can camouflage ourselves against the trees.
Cicadas: Hey, they can't eat _all_ of us.

[whatthepug]

“This is a feast they’re lucky to once in a lifetime”

Some of the turtles in the forest: nope, this is my 4th time.

[gogogomes]

Man to all those animals, it's like BILLIONS of snickers bars just flying around out of nowhere without a good explanation.

[Mrtyville]

Cicada: Finally. Now I have wings and can FLY
*drops to the ground and gets eaten by pretty much any animal*

[lucmakelele]

*Grandpa Squirrel:* "It was a day like no other, food suddenly appeared out of nowhere, we ate and we ate and we ate and we ate... Sigh... never again have we seen such a day the heavens blessed us so"

[RaphaeLoh]

I lived in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, for a year and it just happened to be the time when the cicadas wake up... every tree was covered with them, and it was like living next to a railway with the longest train in the world!

[skudzer]

Cicada pro tip: always arrive late to the party

[damyne]

2:52 the little hand just casually grabs it😂

"Scuseeee me"

[babblingalong]

Cicada's are so cute. Their clumsiness only adds to it. Yes, as adults they're eaten quickly, but these organisms are 17 years old when that happens! They've had long happy lives! They live longer than many of the mammals that eat them. Incredible.

[jamesambrocio]

2:51 watching that Trash panda grab that one cicada made me laugh.
"lemme just grab one of these real quick."

[benkalvin]

2:52 Racoon be like I'll take one thank you.

[CrispyClouds]

Now let us have a moment of silence for those cicadas that died a virgin, RIP...

[christopherajayi]

It's astounding! It's almost as if their purpose is just to feed the forest, keep the nutrients cycled throughout wildlife and then deteriorate back into the Earth and leaving babies to continue the process in 17 years. I'm in Awe

[dracodracarys]

The empty shed shells, meanwhile, evolve into Ghost-types with only 1 HP

[disguy]

Seeing the racoon hand out of nowhere just casually pick up a cicadas really make me giggle

[TheStranger]

Animals are so savage they eat the face first without even thinking about it.

[JenniNoMercy]

"At first there are merely thousands"

MERELY bugs are terrifying

[narvojr]

Brought to you by: That itchy feeling on your body