Periodical cicadas have a long underground nymph stage. Which option correctly describes its duration?

Periodical cicadas have a long underground nymph stage. Which option correctly describes its duration?

• A. They spend 1 year underground as nymphs.
• B. They emerge every year from underground as adults.
• C. They spend 12 years underground as nymphs before emerging.
• D. They spend 13 to 17 years underground as nymphs before emerging to mate and die shortly after.

Answer: (D)

Periodical cicadas develop underground for a very long time before they appear above ground. Each nymph spends years feeding on sap from tree roots, then, all at once, many of them crawl up, molt into winged adults, mate, lay eggs, and die within weeks. The development time underground is not the same every year for all individuals but falls into two main lengths: 13 years or 17 years, depending on the brood. That is why the correct description is a long, synchronized underground period of 13 to 17 years before emerging to reproduce and die shortly after. Choosing a much shorter time, like one year, contradicts the distinctive long juvenile phase these cicadas have. Saying they emerge every year ignores the periodic, synchronized waves they’re known for, and 12 years isn’t observed in this group. The 13- to 17-year underground timeline is the defining pattern.

Periodical cicadas develop underground for a very long time before they appear above ground. Each nymph spends years feeding on sap from tree roots, then, all at once, many of them crawl up, molt into winged adults, mate, lay eggs, and die within weeks. The development time underground is not the same every year for all individuals but falls into two main lengths: 13 years or 17 years, depending on the brood. That is why the correct description is a long, synchronized underground period of 13 to 17 years before emerging to reproduce and die shortly after.

Choosing a much shorter time, like one year, contradicts the distinctive long juvenile phase these cicadas have. Saying they emerge every year ignores the periodic, synchronized waves they’re known for, and 12 years isn’t observed in this group. The 13- to 17-year underground timeline is the defining pattern.