Cicadas Are Coming To The Caldwells [Share]

The cicadas are hatching. 

After a 17-year slumber, billions of these creatures up and down the East Coast are coming out of the earth en masse and they have already been spotted in the Caldwells. 

Share your photos of these noisy creatures with The Caldwells Patch. Click on the "Upload Photos and Videos" icon under the photo, or send your images to the editor at mike.donofrio@patch.com. 

Male cicadas woo their female counterparts with courtship "songs" created by rubbing together a pair of rigid membranes on their bodies, according to magicicada.org.

High up on sunny tree branches, only the males can produce sound, which they do, raising near-deafening choruses to attract the silent female cicadas to mate.

If they behave typically, the cicadas will be around for four to six weeks after first appearing. These bugs will bring big appetites too, so locals should take steps to protect their ornamental plants and trees before they become lunch for the hungry cicadas.

— Tierney McAfee and Henry Powderly contributed to this article.