Female cicadas will lay up to 600 eggs on tree branches after mating, and the offspring will fall to the ground and burrow to begin the 17-year cycle once more and return in 2030.
Scientists are fascinated both by the mathematical accuracy of the cicada life cycle and emergence above ground, as well as the ecological impact of the massive broods, which both reproduce and die in vast numbers.
The decomposing bodies of the adult cicadas will trap nutrients close to tree roots, which will act as a fertilizer for plant life. At the same time, those nutrients will feed the new generation of cicadas now developing underground, a process scientists say can slow tree growth by up to 30 per cent.
Meanwhile, the small tunnels that cicadas bore on their way to the surface are thought to act as soil aerators, trapping rainfall during the summer season.
Additional effects linked to the cicada mating swarms include higher yield for fruit trees, beneficial tree pruning, as well as an increase in bird populations.