Cicadas All But Gone...But Here Come the Rats

Some people thought there were far fewer cicadas this year than in 1987, the last time periodical cicadas belonging to Brood X appeared in 15 Eastern states and Washington D.C. Some thought they were a heck of a lot more. (Scientists say it's too early to say.)

According to the Washington Post, John Zyla, an amateur naturalist tracked where the cicadas emerged in the mid-Atlantic states. He collected more than 3,000 e-mail reports from people who heard about his research, including some from those insisting the emergence was less intense than 17 years ago. Zyla said, however, that he thinks the majority response is the opposite.

And if many citizens in affected states notice more rats than usual in their midst, they're not seeing things, and they can thank cicadas.

Because rats dine on cicadas, the slow tapering off of the Brood X population has caused the frustrated rodents to come out of hiding looking for more of the food they've enjoyed over the last month. This has lead to a surge of calls to public health officials and pest control operators in affected states.

Adult cicadas are the only ones dying right now. Their offspring will wait a few more weeks to bust out of their nests in the branches of trees. After that, it's back underground like their late parents - where they'll bide their time for the next 17 years.