QF Focus Magazine


PUZZLE PAGES Spot the difference -


See if you can spot all 10 differences, answers on page 26


Cicada - the sound of summer


"Cicada" comes from the Latin, meaning "tree cricket."


There are about 3,000 known species of cicada worldwide, according to the Smithsonian Natural Museum of History.


The 13- or 17-year life cycle of a periodical cicada begins when an adult female cicada lays her eggs in slits she cuts in the twigs and branches of trees. When the eggs hatch, the nymphs or juveniles drop to the ground and


burrow into the soil. The growing cicada then spends the next 13 to 17 years underground as a nymph.


Juvenile cicadas live at depths of 30 centimetres or more and subsist on the juices of plant roots until the final year. When the soil temperature reaches about 18 degrees Celsius, they burrow their way to the surface. They then climb a tree, where they shed their nymphal skin and emerge as adults.


Once they rise from the soil, these cicadas live for four to six weeks. Their time above ground is spent mating and avoiding predators.


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