This spring, when the ground temperature hits 64 degrees Fahrenheit, trillions of cicadas will dig their way up from beneath the soil across the Southern and Midwestern United States.
In a rare so-called double emergence, two distinct cicada broods — one on a 13-year life cycle and the other on a 17-year one — will take to the trees to sing, eat and mate.
And though we may prefer not to think about it, considering their lodgings in the branches above, the cicadas will also eliminate waste in the form of urine.
Despite their size, cicadas have an impressively powerful stream, scientists reported in an article published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers adapted a fluid dynamics framework based on features like surface tension and the effects of gravity to map out how animals of different sizes, from mosquitoes to elephants, might pee.
Persons:
Saad Bhamla
Organizations:
Southern, Midwestern, National Academy of Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
Locations:
Midwestern United States