Cicadas spend 13 or 17 years underground — both prime numbers, likely an evolutionary trick to avoid synchronizing with predators on shorter cycles.
A large insect known for the loud buzzing or clicking song produced by males, with some species spending up to 17 years underground as nymphs before emerging as adults.
From Latin cicāda (tree cricket, cicada), of uncertain deeper origin, possibly onomatopoeic or from a Mediterranean substrate language Key roots: cicāda (Latin: "tree cricket, cicada").
North American periodical cicadas (Magicicada) spend either 13 or 17 years underground — both prime numbers, which mathematicians believe is an evolutionary strategy to avoid synchronizing with predator population cycles. A predator with a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6-year cycle would only overlap with a 17-year cicada every 34, 51, 68, 85, or 102 years respectively. In 2024, Brood XIX (13-year) and Brood XIII (17-year) emerged simultaneously for the first time in 221 years. The ancient Greeks wore golden cicada pins as symbols of immortality, because the insects seemed to be reborn from the earth.