On June 10, US President Joe Biden’s first trip abroad was delayed unexpectedly when a swarm of cicadas bombarded the plane Air Force One.
What are cicadas?
- Swarms of these insects have been spotted in a number of American states.
- These are part of a group named Brood X, based on their life cycles and periodic appearances.
- The cicadas in Brood X number in billions and come out of their underground homes every 17 years.
- Cicadas live underground for extended periods of time, typically 13 or 17 years, and feed on roots of trees both underground and above it.
- The term ‘brood’ refers to a population of cicadas that is isolated from other populations because of differences in their year of emergence or locality.
- When underground, cicada nymphs go through five stages of development. Once they become adults, which takes about 17 years for some periodical cicadas, the males emerge from underground.
(Source: Indian Express)
