St. Louis Braces for Noisy Summer of (Cicada) Love

Friday, 13 May 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Experts say there’ll be love in the air this spring—really, really loud love. A group of cicadas in St. Louis is nearing the end of their 13-year life cycles. And residents are bracing for a noisy final mating call. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says officials are projecting such a disturbance that they are warning people against having outdoor weddings. When the current group’s parents died off in 1998 residents complained that the cacophony they created was loud enough to “make napping with open windows impossible.” Too bad, says a local horticulturist: “Whether we like it or not, they’re going to have their party.”

More about 13-year cicadas via Wikipedia. If you can handle it—it’s kind of gross—here’s a time-lapsed photo of a cicada molting