After a 17-year dormancy period, the U.S. East Coast is about to be overrun by over 30 billion cicadas. This preview for a documentary-in-the-making will show you what to expect — including a remarkable time-lapse of cicadas breaking through their exoskeletons.


It's called Return of the Cicadas, a film that's being put together by filmmaker Samuel Orr. He's been working on it since 2007, chronicling every aspect of the insect's unique 17-year lifecycle. Quite obviously, this year is a big year for Orr, as the cicadas are set to emerge from the ground en masse.


To help him finish the documentary, Orr has launched a Kickstarter campaign. He's hoping to raise $20,000, which will enable him to produce more time-lapse footage.

As for the preview trailer, I encourage you to watch the whole thing. But at the very least, do yourself a favor and jump to the 2:20 mark and watch as the cicadas transform themselves from terrestrial crawlers into winged insects.