New Delhi, April 27 -- They're loud. They're sexually aroused. And for one special, cacophonous month up to a trillion of them will engulf suburbs and woodlands across America. Two cicada "broods" are set for a rare double emergence that last occurred in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was president and the United States purchased Louisiana from France. The prospect of another natural wonder just weeks after a total solar eclipse across much of the country has gripped scientists and the public alike.
Cicadas comprise a diverse family of over 3,000 insect species found globally, with the majority of their lives spent underground in a larval state. They emerge as adults to transform and mate, with some species appearing annually and others, know...