How do cicadas stay underground for so many years before emerging?
Quick Answer
Some periodical cicadas spend 13 or 17 years underground as nymphs, feeding on plant root fluids before they emerge almost at once. Their synchronized life cycle helps them overwhelm predators.
The Full Story
Periodical cicadas are famous for spending most of their lives underground as nymphs, living on xylem fluids from tree roots. In North America, the best-known broods emerge on 13-year or 17-year cycles, with Brood XIX and Brood XIII drawing attention in 2024 because of overlapping emergence. The long underground stage is a development strategy, not hibernation: the insects grow slowly and wait until soil temperatures and seasonal cues line up. When the cycle ends, millions emerge together, molt into adults, mate, and die within weeks.
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