Cicada Emergence! How did this evolve? Full interview with Nancy Miorelli

For more on the evolution tour visit https://www.evotour.scibugs.info/
For Nancy's stuff, visit https://www.scibugs.info/

Periodic cicadas are famous for their eerie, synchronized emergence—every 13 or 17 years, depending on the species. Found only in eastern North America, these insects spend most of their lives underground as nymphs, feeding on tree root sap. Then, all at once, they tunnel up in massive numbers, shed their skins, and flood forests with sound.

Why the long wait? What evolutionary pressures could have shaped this? Find out as Jon Perry interviews entomologist (bug scientist) Nancy Miorelli.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Cicada Invasion Discovery
02:07 Meet Nancy – Amazon Tour Organizer
03:02 Our Evolution Tour in the Amazon (Starts Dec 27)
03:30 Kentucky Tornado
04:09 What are Periodical Cicadas?
08:10 Evidence of Cicada Predators
12:11 Failed Molts
16:19 Snowplows and Bug Guts
20:20 The Cicada Life Cycle Explained
24:17 Nymph Size and Underground Years
28:29 Why These Bugs Evolve Synchronously
32:28 Cicada Life Underground
34:42 Nancy and Jon Free-Style
42:42 Mutation, Hybridization, and Brood Shifts
44:52 Track Cicada Broods
48:54 Nancy’s Tours, Bugs, and Bigger Projects
52:53 Final Thoughts on Nature’s Timers