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Comic video features humans reenacting cicada life cycle

NPR
Published May 8, 2024 at 8:25 AM EDT
A Brood XIX cicada crawls up a tree at the University of North Carolina on May 1, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Brood XIX, known as the Great Southern Brood, are present along the East Coast from Maryland to Georgia and in the Midwest from Iowa to Oklahoma. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
A Brood XIX cicada crawls up a tree at the University of North Carolina on May 1, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Brood XIX, known as the Great Southern Brood, are present along the East Coast from Maryland to Georgia and in the Midwest from Iowa to Oklahoma. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The cicadas are coming.

The red-eyed bugs with Broods XIII and Broods XIX are expected to emerge shortly, blanketing huge swaths of the country from Missouri to Illinois. The last time so many cicadas emerged together, Thomas Jefferson was president.

But if you’re wondering how, there’s now a video that explains it all: a reenactment featuring adults in winged costumes.

“The Life Cycle of the 17-Year Cicada” is narrated by Tom Velat, ecology supervisor at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. He joins us.

Watch on YouTube.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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