Live Science Plus
What the Heck Is This?
Rather than an obscure close-up like we often present, we show you the whole shebang today. The question is: Can you figure out what's actually going on?
No hints today. Well, okay, one: It involves cicadas. But what does the image reveal?
If you guessed what I first guessed, you're wrong, and like most men, perhaps you think about that a lot. There are not two bugs here. It's actually one cicada shedding its exoskeleton. The bug is a member of Brood 19 which, after 13 years underground, is emerging across the south this spring. Very, very noisily.
Got a strange or interesting photo related to science, nature or technology? What the Heck, send it to meand maybe I'll use it. And you follow me on Twitteror Facebook.
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Robert is an independent health and science journalist and writer based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a former editor-in-chief of Live Science with over 20 years of experience as a reporter and editor. He has worked on websites such as Space.com and Tom's Guide, and is a contributor on Medium, covering how we age and how to optimize the mind and body through time. He has a journalism degree from Humboldt State University in California.