I was having a conversation with my teenage daughter who, in typical low-information-biology-education fashion, thought the impending cicadas plague was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Even though these things are going to be a substantial nuisance, they really do speak to the majesty and amazing works of the Lord. By providing a food source that appears only once every 17 years, He creates a way for nature to cross the boundaries of the occasional brutal winter, or summer drought, or spring floods.
As I understand it, the re-emergence of the bugs is actually a regional event, with some areas of the country on a different 17-year sequence. What a beautiful way to ensure survival of species by providing a binge of food every so often, so as to ensure population booms among the types of animals and birds that feed on these blooms of insects across the country/planet.
Interesting perspective about the food source. Makes sense. There’s an area in India right next to Burma (OK, Myanmar) where a certain kind of Bamboo only goes to seed once in a blue moon. Bamboo rats suddenly multiply like crazy and nature puts on a show.
It is once in a lifetime... for the cicadas.
I didn't have many in my neighborhood when brood XIV hit in 2008, but just a few miles away it was a cicada summer of love.
If you are 16 or under, it is a once in a lifetime event