For those unaware, cicadas have a rather peculiar life cycle: After mating, the female cicadas lay eggs in the natural grooves of large trees. When the eggs hatch, the larvae drop to the ground and burrow deep into the soil for shelter. Notably, the duration of these larvae living underground is quite extended before they resurface, molt, and mate to continue their life cycle. Most cicada species live underground for 5 to 7 years, but there's a special case with Brood X, which remains buried for a whopping 17 years. Therefore, this year marks the emergence of billions of Brood X cicadas, as they crawl out of the ground, molt, and engage in mating rituals to prepare for the next generation in 17 years. This implies that the last natural sighting of this species was around 2003-2004.

