They start with eggs laid on branches and in twigs and other undergrowth before hatching and moving underground.
Then they stay there for years and mature as nymphs before rising out of the ground as adults when the temperature and climate are just right. The first Brood X cicadas are slated to show up later this month before the majority comes out in May.
Then the mating madness begins. The adult males will spend the next couple of months flying around attracting mates with a phone call that can reach 100 decibels.
“The biggest complaint about these cicadas is the noise,” Chapman said. “It is very loud.”
But the noise is about the magnitude of the problems – the cicadas do not have much impact on the crops and do not harm the animals.
At the end of the mating season, eggs are laid, the cicadas die and the cycle starts all over again. After all the time underground, the adults only live a month or two above the ground.
“It’s like all of your energy is growing,” said Chapman. “They’re only out to mate, lay more eggs, and die again, and that’s unique in how disproportionate their lifestyle is.”
Periodic cicadas aren’t to be confused with the annual cicadas Lincoln and Nebraska are used to – they’re a whole different species, Chapman said, and we’ll still hear their booming cries this summer, as we do every year.
