The 17-year cicadas make a lot of noise, but they really are an awesome phenomenon that you only experience a few times in your life. They also are actually good for trees and shrubs because they perform a sort of natural pruning. They don’t actually eat anything, but they lay their eggs in the ends of the twigs. That splits the ends of the twigs a bit, because when the larvae emerge from the eggs they drop to the ground and burrow in (to remain there feeding on sap and developing for another 17 years ) That leaves the trees and shrubs looking pretty ragged, but the next year they bloom BEAUTIFULLY. It also actually provides areation to the soil around the trees.

The cicadas are really beautiful insects and they look so … I dunno, prehistoric. I look forward to their emergence this year.