Silence of the cicadas: can we stop the insect extinction?
As the colder months draw closer at Duke, sweatshirts emerge from hibernation, and students are awash in the bustle of the semester. All the while, something seems absent. A familiar hum that both annoyed and intrigued students from the moment they arrived on campus: the cicadas. Just weeks ago, their cries filled the treetops, providing an impromptu soundtrack for the start of the semester. Now the familiar sound has faded, replaced by the scuffling of shoes on their way to one of the rare in-person classes. Yes, this year’s batch of swarming, screeching cicadas has departed for the year, and the butterflies, dragonflies and other insects that call Duke home are not far behind. But like the cold of the winter, this absence is fleeting, and we can depend on our many-legged neighbors to return in the spring, their chirping and buzzing bringing in a new season. But this endless cycle may not be all that endless.