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17 Year Cicadas - Brood XIII

Chicago, Illinois - June, 2007

They only come out every 17 years...Brood XIII Cicadas

These Cicadas wait in the ground for 17 years, then over the span of a few weeks, they emerge from the ground, molt their skin and transform into adults. They then make a lot of noise & mate and the females lay eggs in the trees. After it is all done, they die and the cycle continues. The noise they make is surreal as the males fly to the treetops and call out to the females. It is unknown how many of them there are but their numbers easily reach the billions.

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The nymphs dig out of the ground and attach themselves to leaves & trees. That's where they molt and emerge as adults.

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An adult emerging from its nymph husk & 2 adults mating.

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Holes in the ground where the countless throngs of cicada nymphs emerged.

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