If you’re scared of bugs, you might want to look away, dear Pandas. However, if you’re a nature-lover or simply curious to learn more about the world, then we’ve got an exciting story for you. There’s love in the air in the eastern United States, and billions, possibly even trillions, of cicadas are putting the moves on one another by showing off their musical skills.
After spending a whopping 17 years buried underground in an immature nymph state, these cicadas—collectively known as Brood X or the Great Eastern Brood—have finally emerged for everyone to see them in their full glory. The spectacle is awe-inspiring (and a tad terrifying if I’m completely honest).
People are sharing photos of what it’s actually like to go outside in some states, and Bored Panda has collected just a sample of the best ones to show you just how powerful nature can be. Have a scroll down and, if you’re currently in the eastern US, we’d absolutely love to hear your own experiences with Brood X in the comments.
I wanted to learn more about cicadas, so I reached out to Michael J. Raupp, an Emeritus Professor of Entomology at the University of Maryland and a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America. In a phone interview with Bored Panda, Professor Raupp told me that what’s currently happening in the eastern US is something that people experience only a “handful of times in our lives.” It’s a “totally natural phenomenon that doesn’t happen anywhere else” on Earth, and it’s a spectacle of birth, death, life, and romance in the trees.
Read on for the full interview with the professor and to find out how to deal with the cicada mating season if you’re a tad afraid of bugs.
#1
Image source: PleaseBugMe
#2
Image source: BethanyAdamec
#3
Cicadas Underneath Of An Old Tarp That We Pulled Away
Image source: Sufficient-Dream4579
#4
Image source: TwinDadLifer
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Image source: tbilb
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Image source: bradonlongwx
#7
Image source: LizCinciBiz
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Live From The Front Lines. Aka, My Backyard. Brood X Showing Up Strong In Mount Vernon.
Image source: randofreak
#9
East Coast Cicadas decided to all come to my house
Image source: ms_ziggy
#10
Image source: KTKNichols
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Image source: ange_le_pange
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Image source: bforte22
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Image source: ThatJohnnyKguy
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Image source: SashMoon83
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Image source: jockamo3
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Image source: phuffdaddy
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Image source: pouchedrat
#18
Y’all got cicadas too?
Image source: DementedCentaur
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Image source: ilanaahh
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Image source: raehenig
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Image source: katamarilvr9000
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Image source: KristineMetter
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Image source: SaladZombie
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Image source: KatyCiola
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Image source: aSashaJones
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Image source: mscholesyoung
#27
Image source: SylviaBurwell
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Image source: HMcdoolittle
#29
Image source: geocruizer
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Image source: ksandlin10k
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