Brood X contains billions — maybe trillions — of cicadas, and they are emerging after 17 years underground.
They will shake up parts of the eastern U.S. during a raucous few weeks as full-fledged adults. Then, just as suddenly, they will die. wapo.st/3bPqfVN
They will shake up parts of the eastern U.S. during a raucous few weeks as full-fledged adults. Then, just as suddenly, they will die. wapo.st/3bPqfVN
Since 2004, the Brood X cicadas have been growing and molting underground, drinking a fluid called xylem from plant and tree roots through a straw-like beak. Within a couple of weeks, half the brood will emerge.
Take a scroll through a cicada's life: wapo.st/3bPqfVN
Take a scroll through a cicada's life: wapo.st/3bPqfVN
After shedding its brown shell and the passage of a couple days, it will be able to fly and call. wapo.st/3bPqfVN 
In the following weeks, the cicadas will mate, lay eggs and then promptly die. Once the nymphs hatch, they too will burrow back underground, recycling the 17-year-long process. wapo.st/3bPqfVN
And sometimes, fungus makes them lose their butts. wapo.st/3fHeX6Z
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