The moment has arrived.
After years underground, periodical cicadas—insects of the genus Magicicada—emerge by the trillions in more than a dozen states to molt, sing, court and mate. A casual listener might mistake their collective chorus for the sound of a UFO landing:
But for the individual cicada, what’s going on is a courtship ritual as intimate and complex as a tango. The stakes are high. the possible mistakes are many.
Check the guest list
This year, in a rare “double appearance,” two groups of periodical cicadas are present: Brood XIII, or the Northern Illinois Brood, which includes up to three 17-year-old cicada species in some locations, and Brood XIX, the Great Southern Brood , which includes up to four 13-year-old cicada species. Their songs — like those of Magicicada septendecim and Magicicada neotredecim, below — can sound deceptively similar:
Early arrival (or)
Female cicadas usually mate only once, so it takes the male to emerge early – hence the mad dash from the ground to the treetops. But don’t be too early: The first cicadas above are ripe for slaughter, when “everything’s hungry and the predators discover it’s the best thing to eat,” said David Marshall, a biologist and cicada magazine expert.
Breeding chances improve in the second wave, once what ecologists call “predator saturation” begins. “You want to be Johnny on the spot,” said Dr. Marshall. “And if you show up late, you’re really screwing up.”
Get fit
After emerging, it may take several days to adjust to life above ground. You’ll immediately wriggle, squeeze out of your nymph exoskeleton, and unfurl your wings. it will slowly solidify to a glossy black. Soon, when the air gets warm and the sun is bright, it will be time for the males to sing.
Bang your timpani
The male cicada is a beefed-up beer can. The abdomen is hollow and on either side is a membrane called a tympanum, not unlike a woofer: Vibrate it and the sound is transmitted. To change the frequency, change the shape and position of the abdomen.
Sing a little, fly a little
Courtship proceeds in approximately three phases, each with an associated song that is specific to a particular species. First, the male sings a short, inviting phrase a few times, flies a foot or two, lands, and sings again. “He trolls headphones for receptive females,” Dr. Marshall said. The song of M. tredecim, a warbler crouching in what scientists call a downdraft as the male’s abdomen arches downward, sounds like an inverted question mark: bzzz-ewwww.
Stop, look, listen
Most females will not be receptive to male advances. either already mated or not yet physiologically ready. Men, be on the lookout for subtle wing movements, the little shrugs of the shoulders that might be of interest. Eventually these become loud, obvious flaps of her wings.
Meanwhile, watch out for the buttinsky that lands nearby. Competing males can cause interference, such as that of M. tredecim: a garbled version of the invitation phrase, which prevents the first male from calling, causes the female to ignore him and induce him to fly away, discouraged.
Now come closer
If the female shows interest—if she flaps her wings within about half a second of the male’s invitation—the male should approach and move on to the next song. This is similar to the first song, but comes in a fast sequence with no gaps between phrases.
Professional time
Until now they have been arms and legs long, but now the male may reach out and eagerly touch the female, perhaps close to the eye, as he moves into his final song, a series of staccato notes. Let the actual mating begin (and give it three to five hours to complete).
Through it all, the female has one job, notes Dr. Marshall: “Don’t mate with the wrong species.” With a variety of beer cans banging around, maybe physically belting out a song is a good, last-ditch way to reassure the woman that she’s chosen the right brand.
Oh, and avoid the zombies!
As cicadas first burrow into the soil, some will encounter the spores of Massospora cicadina, a fungus that turns cicadas into sex-crazed, spore-filled zombies intent on mating and spreading the infection. Woe to the duped, Dr. Marshall said: “It will become an unfortunate dispersal of spores for the next generation.”
Happy end
In four to six weeks it will all be over, the track full of cicada frames, the air reeking of rot – and the trees bearing little nests of cicada eggs. In another six to 10 weeks the eggs will hatch and the tiny nymphs will drop to the ground, burrow, find a root to sip on, and wait. See you in 13 or 17 years!