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| 5th-century silver cicada brooches, at The Morgan Library Museum |
Many of you may have noticed the return of Brood II. Intergalactic space aliens, evilly hatching from hidden eggs that were transported on UFO's and buried in the Mohave desert years ago, with the intent of destroying the human race and taking over our world? No, they are cicadas with 17 year breeding cycles, laying dormant in the ground, which is a miraculous feat in and of itself, and an amazingly rare life cycle for most species on our planet. The ones we saw in recent weeks are the same type Thomas Jefferson documented at Monticello.
I saw a few very large (and dead) ones squashed right outside and inside the entrance to an office park in Pomona two weeks ago, with bright red eyes and deep dark blue bodies. They were huge, and I just had to point them out to my mom. We'd never seen bugs that big before. If you get the chance to see one, try to conquer your fear for a closer look. They don't come around often, maybe only every 17 years or so.
