Shared Moment: A Delicate Debut

An intimate moment of transformation captured on camera

Photograph by Rene Bechard
PhotoZone
Sep 23, 2020

Perched atop its nymph skin, a newly emerged dog-day cicada begins its brief but noisy adult life on a tree in Arcanum, Ohio. “I am an insect freak!” says Rene Bechard, who grabbed her camera as soon as a neighbor called to report that cicadas were emerging all over her yard. “I had never seen anything like it,” Bechard says. “It was extraordinary to witness these large, alien-looking animals come to life.” Dismayed that many people “don’t respect insects,” Bechard hopes her images will help people “look differently” at these infinitely diverse creatures so vital to Earth’s ecosystems.

More from National Wildlife magazine and the National Wildlife Federation:

A Downward Spiral »
Blog: 9 "Amazing" Nature Photos »
See Last Issue's Shared Moment »

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