#6: Cicadas: Unexpected Ambassadors of Biodiversity

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Periodical cicadas are amazing animals - they spend nearly 13 or 17 years underground, and all decide, together, to come out and party in your trees at the same time.
They are loud, and perhaps you think they are annoying. But they are one of the most accessible demonstrations of nature's abundance that still occurs.
But cicadas are super important to our ecosystems and the food webs that support life. Their story is full of history, drama, and even optimism. And right now, as this is being released in 2024, a rare "double emergence" is occurring.
So now is the time to give cicadas a second look, and see just how magical the "magicicada" genus is.
Host Griff Griffith, with the help of renowned cicada researchers Dr. Chris Simon, Dr. Gene Kritsky, and Dr. Matt Kasson, as well as All Bugs Go to Kevin founder Kevin Wiener, takes a fun, and sometimes disturbing look at cicadas, why they matter, and how they reflect biodiversity in general.
See the Full Show Notes and photos on Jumpstart Nature's web page.
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Links to Topics Discussed
All Bugs Go to Kevin: Facebook Group | YouTube Channel
Cicada Safari App
cicadas.uconn.edu - perhaps the best, most authoritative resource on periodical cicadas
The full length interview with Dr. Chris Simon is available on Nature's Archive podcast feed.
CREDITS
This podcast episode was written, edited, and produced by Michael Hawk. Our host and co-writer is Griff Griffith. Kat Hill provided editing assistance.
Thanks to the team at cicadas.uconn.edu for allowing us to use some of their recordings of periodical cicadas, as well as Kevin Weiner for use of his photos and audio.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Lofi Prairie by Brian Holtz Music
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9247-lofi-prairie
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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