After years of hiding in the dark,
when the sun’s rays reach deep,
the start of a new cycle, our song will reap.
Though our time in the light is fleeting,
our music will set in stone, our next meeting.
What are we?
(scroll down for answer)
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CICADAS
Explanation:
- “After years of hiding in the dark,”
- “When the sun’s rays reach deep, the start of a new cycle our song will reap.”
- “Though our time in the light is fleeting,”
- “Our music will set in stone our next meeting.”
(Periodical) cicadas spend 13 or 17 years underground, unseen and unheard.
They emerge only when the soil warms, sun-heated earth signals the beginning of their brief above-ground life and their deafening chorus.
Once they surface, adult cicadas live only a few weeks.
Their loud mating songs ensure the next generation, which will return on the same long schedule many years later.