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From the Midwest to the East Coast, cicadas from Brood X have emerged in full force, making a lot of racket while trying to find a mate and then actually doing the deed. Although their days are numbered, they’ll leave behind billions of eggs and millions of holes in the ground. These pits, created when the cicadas emerge from the soil, will stick around for the duration of the growing season, venting greenhouse gases. There are a number of effects from this, says Richard Phillips, an ecologist at Indiana University whose team is exploring the tunnels’ influence on water infiltration, gas exchange, and fertilization.
Ordinarily, when subterranean species tunnel through the soil, the holes collapse behind them. Phillips explains that cicadas produce chemicals that act as a glue, holding the tunnel’s shape for the entirety of the season. With as many as 400 holes per square ...
