A cicada spends years underground as a nymph before emerging as an adult.

The longer version

Underground life lasts so long because feeding conditions there are poor. A nymph taps the watery fluid inside tree roots with piercing mouthparts, extracting sugars and minerals slowly, and only after enough growth does it tunnel upward for its final moult.

Staying below ground also shelters it from predators and weather through most of its existence. When many individuals emerge together, their sheer numbers overwhelm the animals that eat them, so even heavy losses leave plenty of survivors. Adults then live above ground only briefly, spending their remaining weeks calling, mating, and laying eggs in slits cut into twigs.

Where this entry sits

This collection gathers small wonders from the world of ants, bees, butterflies, beetles, and spiders. Expect surprising details about swarms, silk, and metamorphosis, plus the strange everyday abilities of creatures small enough to fit on a fingertip. The full list sits on the Insects and Spiders page, where every entry is listed in order.