Are cicadas blind? Why are they running into everything?
Brood X cicadas are filling the skies and our windshields. WASHINGTON  Brood X Cicadas have taken over much of the northeast. They litter the skies, the sidewalks and the trees. In a few weeks' time, they will pretty much all die and we will be set free, but until then, many people have noticed a lot have been getting hit by cars. The seemingly constant barrage of exploding cicadas on windshields led many on social media to wonder whether cicadas are blind and can't see oncoming traffic. The Verify team took that question to the experts. THE ANSWER  No, but they don't seem to have very good eyesight. One study estimates they can only see 15 centimeters in front of them. Cicadas hitting my windshield and exploding right before my eyes... pic.twitter.com/1Yrz34UOZK  Miss G(irl) (@JGillyy__) June 4, 2021  THE SOURCES  WHAT WE FOUND  Entomologist Zoe Getman-Pickering says we still don't really know how well cicadas can see. But, she assured our Verify researchers that cicadas are not blind. A 2015 study of Australian cicadas found that they can see, but only about 15 centimeters in front of them. Although the species studied is different from our U.S. Brood X cicadas, Getman-Pickering pointed to it as a piece of evidence that the red-eyed bugs are not actually blind. The study declares that cicadas live a "visually guided lifestyle," as opposed to moving about the world using their other senses. Researchers also found that covering their little eyes impeded their flight abilities, further proving they can see at least a little bit. As for why they seem to get hit by so many cars, Getman-Pickering told us via email that it's no different than any other member of the animal kingdom being in the road at the wrong time.