Fear or feast on cicada nymphs?

Washington – Some are waiting for their arrival with trepidation, others are curious what they might taste like: Americans are swapping tips on how best to weather the storm when billions of cicadas soon emerge after 17 years underground.

Before invading parks and people’s gardens, the insects have already conquered the airwaves, social media and newspapers, especially in parts of the eastern, central and southern United States where “Brood X” is due to emerge.

Billions of cicada nymphs that have been living underground since 2004 will burst out of the soil, shed their skin, mate, lay eggs and then die, all against the backdrop of the deafening noise that males make to attract females. The last time they emerged, George W Bush was the US president, Facebook had just been created and Athens was getting ready to host the Summer Olympics. So when will the swarm arrive? Hard to say, as it depends to some extent on weather conditions and, in particular, the temperature of the soil. –