Prompt Cast
The Fascinating Life Cycle and Behaviors of Cicadas
TLDR Periodical cicadas, native to North America, have a unique life cycle that involves spending the majority of their lives underground as nymphs before emerging as adults for a short period of time to reproduce. They use their loud mating call as a defense mechanism and to attract mates, and their synchronized emergence is likely based on temperature.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
This podcast episode is about cicadas, specifically the periodical cicadas that are currently hatching on the Eastern Seaboard.
03:58
Periodical cicadas emerge every 13 or 17 years in synchronized broods, and the ones that emerge after 13 or 17 years are native and indigenous only to North America.
07:43
Cicadas have two sets of wings, three pairs of legs, compound eyes, and a beak-like sheath called labium that they use to eat and reproduce, and they sing loudly to attract females and scare off birds.
11:41
Cicadas produce their loud mating call using membranes on the sides of their abdomens that create a clicking sound when a muscle contracts and relaxes, and this loud sound serves as a defense mechanism and a way to attract mates.
15:21
Cicadas have mirror-like membranes called Tempana that they retract when producing their loud mating call to protect their ears, and they spend the majority of their lives underground as nymphs before emerging as adults for only two months to reproduce.
19:23
Cicadas have relatively few predators underground, which allows them to survive and reproduce in large numbers, and their synchronized emergence is likely due to following a temperature-based rhythm.
22:45
Cicadas emerge in different areas based on temperature, and there is a mathematical formula to predict when they will emerge in your area.
26:25
Citizen science projects exist for counting and measuring cicadas, and there is a culture surrounding cicadas with various ways to learn more about them.
30:17
The section does not contain relevant information about cicadas.
Categories:
Society & Culture
