If you live in the East Coast or the Midwest, chances are you’ve heard the overwhelming buzz of cicadas, the relentless insects that come to life once every 17 years or so.
And, if you’re in the White House Press Corps, you know better than anyone how menacing they truly are.
Journalists set to cover Joe Biden’s first trip overseas were delayed several hours Tuesday because their plane’s engine was infiltrated by cicadas.
A replacement plane had to be called in, and eventually the press corps took off from Dulles International Airport for the United Kingdom early Wednesday morning after waiting for more than six hours.
Billions of these large, obnoxiously loud insects have taken over the Washington region after they emerged from underground for the first time in almost 20 years. They are members of the Brood X - the largest group of cicadas that live on these cycles, which include three species, NBC News reports.
It remains unclear how many cicadas were involved in the plane’s malfunction, but they’ve made their presence in Washington known.
They’ve even been spotted by Doppler radars, normally used to track weather.
In this case, they must have been yearning for their 5 minutes of fame.
