news-header, science and technology
When birds gorge on cicadas, caterpillars go unchecked and chomp their way through oak forests
21
Oct
Oct
Every 17 years, billions of cicadas emerge from the soil in the eastern United States to climb trees, mate, and lay eggs. For a few weeks, the plump insects provide an all-you-can-eat buffet for birds, mammals, and other predators. “It’s a phenomenal explosion to an ecosystem,” says Kathy Williams, an insect ecologist at San Diego State University.