I always though cicadas were just big, goofy insects. They don’t seem too bright, often bumping into things and crash landing with a surprised and slightly vacant look.
But, I’m way off. Totally wrong, misinformed, entomologically ignorant. They are among the smartest insects in the world with an I.I.Q. rivalling such brainy bugs as the Madagascar toe jam beetle and the Asian rough-bellied lizard mantis.
They aren’t great flyers when they first emerge because they need a little time to comprehend a world through two giant compound eyes and three ajnachakra eyes . It’s this set of three eyes that gives them their intellectual prowess.
The big round compound eyes are standard issue for many bugs. It’s the ajnachakra eyes in the middle of their forehead, that are so amazing. The upper left eye detects light and the upper right eye detects sound. The middle, lower eye detects time: present, future and past.
No wonder it takes them time to learn to fly. It requires some serious brain power to manage all that sensory input, especially the time component. … and all in the name of getting laid and making more cicadas