Cicada’s Metamorphosis
A periodical cicada sheds its nymphal exoskeleton in Cincinnati, revealing nature’s precise engineering. The photo highlights the insect’s compound eyes and three ocelli – simple eyes that detect light intensity. These cicadas spend 17 years underground before emerging en masse, using their compound eyes to navigate and find mates during their brief adult lives. Their synchronized emergence remains one of North America’s most extraordinary natural phenomena. The emergence timing depends on soil temperature reaching precisely 64 degrees Fahrenheit.