What Are CICADAS? The Loudest Bug In The World| Facts for Kids

that sounds familiar sounds like cicadas oh my god i love the angelic voice of john ceccado does this sound anything like john cecatta actually now that you mention it it kind of sounds like those tremendously loud summertime tree crickets no not tree crickets you know cicadas the insects are they related to john cicada who's john cicada john cicada let's just start the video and make sure you give us a thumbs up it really helps our channel click it it's right below have you ever heard a loud buzzing sound in trees during the summertime well it could be male cicadas trying to impress female cicadas depending on where you live and also what year it is don't worry we'll explain what she means by that in a little bit the buzzing might get so loud you won't hear anything else but the male cicadas so let's first talk a bit about what cicadas are cicadas start out as eggs female cicadas lay around 200 to 400 eggs in small holes they make in branches of trees and shrubs then after 6 to 10 weeks nymphs hatch from the eggs and immediately fall to the ground nymphs are baby cicadas the nymphs dig themselves underground and attached to tree roots eating tree sap for as long as two up to 17 years depending on what type of species when they live underground it is called dormant after several years the cicadas dig themselves out and go above ground right as it begins getting dark outside they climb the trunk of any nearby tree and shed their skin and then now they are an adult cicada then the male cicadas begin their high-pitched buzzing sounds that are created by rapidly vibrating drum-like plates on their bellies the females make clicking sounds from their wings if they like the male's sounds next the male and female mates lay their eggs and then die after just about five weeks once they come above ground and hey guess what scientists break apart all the cicada species into just two groups annual and periodical and these two groups consist of over 3 000 different cicada species annual cicadas rise from the ground at different times each summer annual cicadas are usually dark with greenish kind of markings and out of the thousands of cicada species only seven are in the other group the periodical cicadas these bugs all appear from underground at this same time these groups are called broods and appear after a dormant period of either 13 or 17 years that's a long time underground and even if this all sounds scary cicadas aren't harmful they don't bite or sting or attack humans and they don't destroy crops cicadas live in warm to tropical environments where they are one of the most widely recognized insects mainly due to how big they are and the loud buzzing sounds they make cicadas are sometimes called locust but they are not even related that's right quinn they're actually related to leaf hoppers or spittle bugs and even though cicadas are very loud some of the smallest species have songs so high pitched that humans can not hear them and many male cicada species gather together when calling and this makes their noises even more loud different cicada species have separate mating songs to make sure they attract the right mate and many cicada species also have a clear distress call when they are in trouble from a predator so what do they look like get out of the way we've already shown you some pictures but cicadas are large fat insects hmm is this a cicada oh it's your ear they have round bulging eyes on the corners of their heads and short spiky antennae they also have a mouth that sucks to eat attached at the base of their heads and adults have four wings that fold over their backs kind of like a roof to a house they also have special areas on the sides of their bodies called temples and they used their temples to vibrate very fast to make their loud sounds earlier we mentioned that young cicadas are called nymphs nymphs do not have wings and their front legs have thick claws for digging underground cicadas need trees or large shrubs to feed on when they are nymphs and soil that is not too damp hey guess what adult cicadas are active during the daytime but very little is known about the behavior of cicada nymphs when they are dormant underground cicadas spend most of their lives sucking juice from the roots of trees and when they do pop out from the ground cicadas don't usually move too far from where they came out they moved to nearby trees so cicadas are pretty big so you might be wondering what actually eats cicadas and how do they actually prevent themselves from being eaten well pretty much anything or any animal that eats insects will eat a cicada if they can catch one in fact cicadas don't really have many ways to defend themselves the nymphs hide deep in the soil but adults will fly away from if they can and if they do get caught by a predator they make a very loud buzzing or distress sound that may scare or startle the predator remember we said that you don't have to worry about cicadas but are there any things we should be aware of that's actually a good question quinn cicadas don't have many effects on humans at all to be honest well they can be a problem when there are millions of them because they can damage branches of trees when they lay eggs but usually they don't affect people at all too much and again don't be afraid i know that some people think that they might bite or sting but that's just not true are cicadas endangered that's another great question quinn there is not really any cicada species that are endangered but there could be some species that are hurt by the destructions of forests for building and things like that wow hey guess what sometimes up to 10 trillion cicadas can quickly pop up from underground after being dormant and when this happens it's called a plague over those few weeks the singing is really loud just listen yes that's john cicada again oh i keep getting i'm confused the volume can get as loud as being at a rock concert up to 120 decibels and during a plague the amount of cicada droppings or poop could fill hundreds of olympic sized swimming pools every single day yep and once the male and female adults die this plague of cicadas will leave behind about 500 trillion eggs that is over 1 000 times more eggs than there are stars in the entire milky way galaxy wow so the next time you're in your backyard or at a park in the afternoon listen and you'll probably be able to hear them singing in the trees and shrubs and don't forget even though cicadas may kind of look scary they are absolutely harmless to people let's listen one more time shall we [Music] gus those aren't cicadas that's john cicada oh right my bad well hey guess what now we know all about cicadas and a little bit about john zakata thanks for watching make sure you subscribe bye

Channel: Hey! Guess What

Views: 49,598

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Id: GeThQ1s5sfc

Length: 10min 55sec (655 seconds)

Published: Mon May 31 2021