Recent Examples on the WebIn contrast, periodical cicadas have either a 13- or 17-year life cycle and tend to emerge in May or early June for a short mating cycle (about four weeks) before dying off.—Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 May 2024 But periodical cicadas only show up every 13 or 17 years.—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 22 May 2024 The lower halves of the periodical cicadas get replaced by a plug of fungus.—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 7 May 2024 Three years ago, when one of the largest broods of periodical cicadas emerged across a swath of the eastern U.S., users sent in more than half a million photos.—Jasper Davidoff, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 May 2024 Trillions of periodical cicadas from two broods are emerging from their underground habitats in over a dozen states this year, filling the air and creating a lot of noise in the process.—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 18 May 2024 Telling Cicada Species Apart All seven species of periodical cicadas fall under the genus Magicicada.—Lily Carey, Discover Magazine, 6 May 2024 Billions of periodical cicadas are emerging from the soil in the eastern United States and Midwest after living underground for 17 years.—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 5 May 2024 The vast majority of this year’s periodical cicada emergence will take place outside of Maryland.—Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 25 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'periodical cicada.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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