They Waited 17 Years For This

They Waited 17 Years for This: Seventeen-year locusts, so named because they remain in the ground 17 years before emerging, are popping up out of the ground here. A big hatch emerged last night. This picture shows locusts in six stages of development. Starting at lower right and going counter-clockwise, the stages are: 1) locust as it emerges from ground, still encased in larval shell, 2) starting to split shell along back, 3) still emerging from shell, 4) empty case from which locust has emerged, 5) emerged locust with wet wings still folded, and 6) wings almost dry.