The people to whom he was referring are neighbors of these noisy critters. In neighborhoods across central and eastern Kansas, residents have endured weeks of the incessant noise. Fortunately for them, the end is near: Cicadas spend only a few weeks above ground before perishing.
As the cicadas emerge, the male population sings a loud, high-pitched song to attract female mates. As a new generation of cicadas are laid in the twigs of trees, the adults decompose, emitting a foul odor to accompany the mating call. A lethal combination, quite literally.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ap_cicadas_kansas_01_jc_150603_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Orlin Wagner/AP Photo
PHOTO: A periodical cicada lands on an Iris leaf in a garden in Lawrence, Kan., May 29, 2015.
Between their extraordinarily long lifespan and the crescendo with which that life comes to an end, cicadas are of immense interest to scientists, though little is definitively known about them. “From a scientific standpoint, they’re truly fascinating,” Griffin, who directs the John C. Pair Horticultural Center in Wichita, said.
“In the 17th year, when the soil temperature reaches the appropriate temperature,” Griffin explained, “they crawl out of the ground … to complete their life cycle.”
But when asked why cicadas uniformly emerge from the ground after 17 years, Griffin conceded, “who knows why it is.”
This generation won’t be around much longer. But to the next generation, we’ll see you again in 2032.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ap_cicadas_kansas_02_jc_150603_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Orlin Wagner/AP Photo
PHOTO: A periodical cicada lands on a Daisy in a garden in Lawrence, Kan., May 29, 2015.
