Imagine living almost all of your life underground, only to emerge into the light for a few weeks before succumbing to your own mortality? That's exactly what some species of cicada do.
Image: flickr/USDAgov
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In spring in eastern North America, swarms of brown bugs emerge from the soil in their billions after an astonishingly-long stint underground.
The bugs are periodical cicadas and within the space of a few weeks they will shed their skin to become adults, sing to attract a mate, breed and die.
Their behavior has long fascinated observers.
In the late 1800s, entomologist C.L. Marlatt found there were distinct cicada broods with either 17 or 13-year lifecycles. He assigned the various broods Roman numerals as identifiers.
Each brood emerges en masse (sometimes in their billions) in specific years. The simultaneous arrival of all insects in a brood is thought to be a tactic that helps them avoid predators. There's safety in numbers.
The animals develop at different rates, but those who grow faster tend to wait for the others to catch up. And when the soil temperature hits 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius), they make their appearance.
A cicada shedding its shell after a 17-year stint in the soil Image: AP
In May and June 2017, Brood VI emerged across US states such as Georgia and North and South Carolina, and are expected again in 2034, according to Cicada Mania, a project "dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world."
Cicada watchers enthusiastically document and notify the website when they see or hear the animals - the cicada mating opera is unmistakable and loud.
Why they spend so long underground developing and feeding on fluid from tree roots remains something of a mystery; as does their ability to know when exactly to emerge together. But scientists hypothesize a molecular clock, tied to the yearly cycle of the trees they feed upon, plays a role.
When they do finally emerge and mate, the male dies. The female lays her eggs in slits in tree bark and then succumbs to her own mortality. Once hatched, the nymphs - as immature cicada are called - drop to the ground and burrow down until it's their time to materialize.
Insects: Winners and losers of climate change
Think of climate change and endangered species, and animals like the polar bear might come to mind. But the vast majority of species affected by climate change are in fact insects. And though small, their impact is huge.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Fuzzy pollinators
Global warming is shrinking the habitat where bumblebees can live in North America and Europe. These pollinators in particular tend to overheat due to their large size, dark color and hairy bodies. Bumblebees are unable to quickly migrate to cooler climes because they depend on specific plant species to survive. Thus, managed relocation might be required to protect them from extinction.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Sweet workers
In contrast to bumblebees, honeybees are more likely to survive in a warmer environment. But climate change is affecting them by creating mismatches: flowers are blooming earlier due to rising temperatures, before many bees get a chance to taste the flowers. So when bees finally do begin their busy work, there is limited nectar available and more competition for resources to survive.
Image: Colourbox.com
Butterfly effect
The Edith's checkerspot butterfly lives on parts of the North American Pacific coast. Its main food source - the dwarf plantain - is maturing earlier as a result of global warming, making it less available to checkerspot caterpillars. Scientists are looking more to butterflies for modeling climate change effects, since there are many good datasets for the fragile order Lepidoptera.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the glacier stonefly is an excellent indicator of the health of its freshwater habitats. This tiny aquatic insect is another victim of climate change, due to its sensitivity to changes in water quality and dependence on high-alpine, glacier-fed melt-water streams in Glacier National Park in the US state of Montana.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Joe Giersch/U.S. Geological Survey via AP
Lonely grasshopper
The Beydaglari bush-cricket is considered critically endangered, since a population on the Mount Tahtali is extinct and the only remaining one lives at an altitude of 1,800 meters (5,905 feet). Since the species is flightless, it is not able to re-colonize potentially restored habitats. So like the bumblebee, assisted relocation might be necessary to preserve the species.
Image: Battal Ciplak
Lust for blood
But climate change has its winners in the insect world as well. With its predilection for warm weather, ticks that carry potentially fatal diseases are gaining more territory than ever - thanks to climate change. Milder and shorter winters are encouraging an increase in tick populations, and for example across the US, cases of Lyme disease have doubled in recent years.
Hot and furious
Thanks to global warming, ants may also be on the rise. The warmth-loving fire ant is very active and aggressive, and its omnivorous diet includes insects, earthworms, ticks, spiders, arthropod eggs, honeydew and other sweets. They are literally taking over territories where they are not supposed to be, as climate change makes new areas suitable for them to thrive.
Image: Colourbox/P. Chaisanit
Hungry soldier
The green shield bug was previously isolated to warm areas in North America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. But some years ago, it started showing up in the United Kingdom, in cold areas theoretically not suitable as its home. And since the green shield bug eats and destroys all kinds of crops, it is becoming a problem for British farmers.
Image: imago/blickwinkel
Biting dwarf
The Asian tiger mosquito, a robust species that lays its eggs near water, spreads viruses such as chikungunya, dengue, and West Nile. The mosquito is continuing to invade northerly regions of the globe, were winters are becoming warmer and wetter. So next time you hear a buzzing late at night, think of how this little mosquito is winning big due to climate change.
