Brood X of the 17-year periodic cicadas are due to emerge in northeastern USA any day now. We won't see them around Toronto - just too far north - which is a shame because, alarming as the prospect of 1.5 trillion noisy cicadas emerging all at once is, it would nevertheless be pretty cool to experience.
It's such a bizarre idea. No-one really understands why there are populations of 13-year and 17-year cicadas only in eastern North America. No-one really understands how they manage to measure 13 years and 17 years so accurately, and why 13 years and 17 years anyway (prime numbers? really?) And no-one really know why these insects have a life so much longer than any other insect, the vast majority of it lived as immature nymphs deep underground in splendid isolation (there are theories about them outliving and avoiding predators, and the fact that the roots they live on are very low in nutrition so it take them a long time to mature, but these don't seem very convincing to me).
But, whatever the reasons behind it all (or lack thereof), the fact is that, when the soil reaches the magic 64°F temperature (about 18°C), emerge they most certainly will. And I for one am looking forward to seeing them, at least on video.
UPDATE
Some good pictures of Brood X. A bit late, but still great!
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