Ground wapsi: 15 lakh noisy cicadas to emerge in US states after 17-year-long wait

Starting this summer across parts of the eastern United States, cicadas will emerge from their 17 years of sucking on tree roots underground to engage in a two-week fest of calling, mating, laying eggs and then dying.

Not just a massive viral infection, another natural phenomenon is about to take place in the US again -- the emergence of millions of cicadas after 17 years.

After spending 17 years underground, lakhs of cicadas will be emerging in parts of the United States.

The noisy creatures are expected to swarm out in parts of Virginia and North Carolina.

Yes, cicadas are the same creatures you hear trilling about at nighttime. Now, imagine 15 lakh of them buzzing around!

The sound is described by Virginia Tech as like a "field of out-of-tune car radios".

The last time this brood of cicadas emerged was in 2003 and 2004, though some areas saw the emergence of a different brood in 2013.

"Communities and farms with large numbers of cicadas emerging at once may have a substantial noise issue. Hopefully, any annoyance at the disturbance is tempered by just how infrequent — and amazing — this event is," Eric Day, an entomologist in Virginia Tech's Department of Entomology told CBS News.

Periodical cicadas have the longest lifespan of any insects found on earth. They live in soil and feed on roots, coming out once in 13 or 17-year gaps. This year's Brood IX will be coming out of the ground after 17 years to mate.

That annoying chirp is the sound a male cicada makes to attract females.

Once they lay eggs on tree trunks, the adults die, leaving the newborn nymphs to fall to the ground and live there more than a decade.

While the long breeding cycle of these insects still remains a mystery, entomologists believe the huge gap maybe a way to avoid meeting predators.

Hear the story of cicadas in the voice of the legendary David Attenborough: