By Nicole Saidi, CNN
Dear cicada friends,
We know you probably don't speak English, but we humans can't really buzz that well, so this letter will have to do.
The last time we saw your cicada variety, known as Brood II, emerge was in 1996. You were still in your larval stage at that time, so you probably don't remember. Now, you're rising to the surface and having a grand ol' party. So much so that CNN is tracking readers' reports of your locations and listening to recordings of your buzz.
We humans have a hard time imagining what it must be like to go into hiding for years on end and leave your fate in the hands of the world. Who knows what the world will be like when you next emerge 17 years from now? Will it be a mundane place or a strange post-apocalyptic scene?