The Great Brood
The last time they saw the light of day, George W. Bush was president, atmospheric carbon dioxide measured 377 parts per million, and this year’s high school graduates wore diapers. For 17 years Brood X cicadas have tunneled deep in U.S. soils and fed on sap drawn through tree roots. Slowly the nymphs grew in the dark until May, when billions emerged above ground for the last stretch of their lifecycle: a short-lived cacophony of song, mating, and, finally, death. The sudden surge in biomass supplies food to birds, fertilizer for soils, and a rare chance for scientists and the public to witness a phenomenon unmatched in the natural world. For Chris Linder, it was an opportunity to photograph a hot spot in his Maryland backyard, where he often stayed…