Cicadas spend up to seventeen entire years living completely underground as nymphs, quietly sucking fluids out of tree roots in total darkness, only to emerge simultaneously in a massive, apocalyptic swarm.

A closer look

Cicadas spend up to seventeen entire years living completely underground as nymphs, quietly sucking fluids out of tree roots in total darkness, only to emerge simultaneously in a massive, apocalyptic swarm. Once above ground, they spend their final frantic weeks screaming at deafening volumes to attract a mate, aggressively procreating, and then immediately dying en masse, leaving the earth covered in their crunchy, decaying shells. It is an absolutely unhinged evolutionary strategy to hide from predators for almost two decades, only to throw a violently loud, hyper-sexualized death party that annoys every other species on the planet. Most humans cannot commit to a gym membership for more than three weeks, yet these bizarre insects will patiently wait in the dirt through four presidential administrations just for the chance to scream and die. Honestly, dedicating seventeen years of silent preparation for one massive public breakdown is the most relatable thing an insect has ever done