![The presence of <em>Wolbachia</em> in Brood X cicadas](/rails/active_storage/representations/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBaDhNIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--e7815c954cfc0542d6bf60f7ebc81fd345526eb5/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCem9MWm05eWJXRjBTU0lJYW5CbkJqb0dSVlE2QzNKbGMybDZaVWtpRFRZd01IZzJNREErQmpzR1ZBPT0iLCJleHAiOm51bGwsInB1ciI6InZhcmlhdGlvbiJ9fQ==--a3b53ba1a0f83efef18f6e75a8d4ce784384bee2/Homepage%20image.jpg)
Here, seeking to understand a possible cause of the declining popluations of Brood X cicadas in Ohio and Indiana, the authors investigated the presence of Wolbachia, an inherited bacterial symbiont that lives in the reproductive cells of approximately 60% of insect species in these cicadas. Following their screening of one-hundred 17-year periodical cicadas, they only identified the presence of Wolbachia infection in less than 2%, suggesting that while Wolbachia can infect cicadas it appears uncommon in the Brood X cicadas they surveyed.
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