Insects are truly fascinating creatures. Sure, I don’t want to get particularly close to them, but they’re very interesting beings—specifically cicadas. Cicadas are known for their wide set heads, long membranous wings and exceptionally loud songs. For many types of cicadas, they have a relatively normal two to five year lifecycle. This, however, cannot be said of the North American genus of Magicicada cicadas (also known as periodical cicadas). These cicadas spend the majority of their lives (99.5% of their lifecycle) living underground in the immature nymph stage. But, every 13 to 17 years (depending on their location), they will come to the surface in large groups called broods. 2021 is a cicada year and from May to June, trillions of adult cicadas will be inhabiting the Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern U.S.

This brood, brood X, is one of the largest groups of cicadas. The last time we saw this brood was in 2004 and we’re expected to see this brood again in 2038. In honor of the great cicada emergence of 2021, we’ve curated some of our favorite cicada tattoos from talented tattoo artists around the world. Take a sneaky peek at our picks and then let us know your thoughts on this story in the comment section on social media.