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Mysterious Cicadas

Imagine you spend 17 years inside a small closet. One day, you realize that you can just open the door and hit the town! By the way, you have two to four weeks to live. It’s crazy right! Yeah, that's what happens in the life of cicadas!

Female cicadas can lay up to 400 eggs. Young cicada nymphs hatch and dig themselves into the ground to suck the liquids of plant roots.


And after 17 years, they march like zombies towards the nearest tree and start to climb.  where they climb out of their external skeletons and their adult winged form.

The cicadas have no defense and virtually offer themselves to their attackers and soon all the predators are full to the point of bursting.

Cicadas are also known for their buzzing and clicking noises. The insects use different calls to express alarm or attract mates. After mating, the adults lay their eggs and then their job is done. In just a few days. they will all die, and the forest will fall silent.

It’s not clear why these cicadas have such distinct and oddly timed cycles, though some scientists theorize it has to do with avoiding predators.

And still, it remains a mystery!


Credits: Shree Varshini

 




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