Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight program. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Courtney Schutt. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
What would you do if you had just spent seventeen [17] years under ground?
Voice 2
Would you want to change your clothes? Would you want to sit in the sun? Would you want to sing as loud as you could? Singing is exactly what millions of cicadas did in the United States during the summer of 2007!
Voice 1
A cicada is an insect. It is about three centimeters long. Like many insects, it has six legs. The adult cicada also has two sets of wings.
Voice 2
There are over two thousand [2,000] kinds of cicadas around the world. And all of them spend most of their life under the ground! Australia has about two hundred twenty [220] different kinds of cicadas. And you can find about four hundred fifty [450] different kinds in Africa!
Voice 1
Most cicadas are annual cicadas. They come out of the ground once every year. But there are seven kinds of cicadas that stay under the ground for many years. Three of these live under ground for seventeen [17] years! All of these cicadas are found only in the United States. They are called periodical cicadas.
Voice 2
When a cicada is under the ground it is called a nymph. These nymphs drink liquids from tree roots. As a nymph, the cicada is covered in a hard shell. At this time it has no wings - just legs.
Voice 1
After a cicada comes out of the ground, it breaks out of its old shell. Under the old shell is a new shell and four wings. The cicada will find a place in the sun to dry its wings and new shell. Now the cicada is an adult.
Voice 2
After a cicada becomes an adult, it only has about a month to live. Before it dies, it must mate with another cicada. This is why the cicada sings.
Voice 1
The male cicadas sing to appeal to the females. They sing very loud. Their sounds have been recorded at ninety-six [96] decibels. This is as loud as a motorcycle or truck passing close by.
Voice 2
When a female cicada hears the song she flies closer to the male. Then she answers by making sudden movements with her wings. The two cicadas continue to move closer. Then they mate.
Voice 1
All of the cicadas come out of the ground at the same time. In many places, there are millions of cicadas flying, singing, and mating. All of these cicadas singing together make a lot of noise!
Voice 2
The Ravinia Festival is a series of musical events. The events are held out in the open air. But the trees near the festival contain many cicadas. The cicada songs are so loud that Ravinia had to change its plans! Now, only music events with loud music will happen while the cicadas are above the ground. The events with quieter music will take place later in the summer, when the cicadas have gone.
Voice 1
People have different opinions about cicadas. Many people like them. They think cicadas are interesting because they only come out of the ground every seventeen [17] years. Steve Heiss lives in Maryland. There are no cicadas where he lives. So he collects them near his work place! Then he brings them home to show his children.
Voice 2
And National Geographic magazine says that some people in China keep male cicadas. They enjoy listening to the cicadas’ songs!
Voice 1
But Russ Rosen from Virginia does not like them.
Voice 3
“They are stupid and they cover the ground. They fly into everything. If you are in a cicada’s path, it will fly right into you.”
Voice 1
Many people agree with Russ. They say the cicadas’ singing is so loud it hurts their ears. And they do not like the smell of dead cicadas.
Voice 2
The animal world likes to eat the cicadas. Many birds will eat whole cicadas. Cats and dogs will eat them too. Eating cicadas does not harm an animal.
Voice 1
Some people do not think the animals should have all the fun. Years ago, Native Americans used to eat cicadas. And today, some people are cooking the cicadas and eating them. Experts say that cicadas are good to eat, because they are high in vitamins and minerals, and low in fat.
Voice 2
The female cicadas that do not get eaten produce about five hundred [500] eggs. They lay them in many different places. They lay most of their eggs on tree branches. Later in the summer, millions of new cicada nymphs will come out of these eggs.
Voice 1
Then the cicada nymphs drop to the ground. They dig into the earth to get under the ground. Then they attach to a tree root to begin eating. Seventeen [17] years later, the cicadas will come out of the ground once again!
Voice 2
Some people call cicadas “locusts”. But this is a mistake. A locust is a completely different insect. Locusts can cause much harm to plants and crops.
Voice 1
National Geographic suggests one reason for this mistake. It says that the first European people to live in the United States remembered a Bible story about locusts. The large number of cicadas caused them to think of this story!
Voice 2
In the story, God’s people were slaves in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians would not free them from slavery. So, God sent millions of locusts to the Egyptians. There were so many locusts that the ground looked black. They filled the houses. And they destroyed all the crops.
Voice 1
It is easy to understand why cicadas are some times called locusts. When they all come out of the ground at the same time there are millions of cicadas! They cover the trees and the ground.
Voice 2
But cicadas do not cause any harm. Cicadas do not bite. They do not carry any diseases. And they do not eat away plants. They are not like locusts at all.
Voice 1
So even when cicadas sing very loud, we can be happy that they are not locusts. We do not have to worry. We can sing along.
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