Photograph by Medford Taylor
Map
Cicada Range
Audio
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Bug
- Diet:
- Herbivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- Up to 17 years
- Size:
- 0.75 to 2.25 in (2.2 to 5.5 cm)
- Group name:
- Cloud or Plague
- Did you know?
- Some cicadas produce loud, noisy calls that can be heard up to 1 mile (1.5 km) away.
- Size relative to a paper clip:
Cicadas are probably best known for their buzzing and clicking noises, which can be amplified by multitudes of insects into an overpowering hum. Males produce this species-specific noise with vibrating membranes on their abdomens. The sounds vary widely and some species are more musical than others. Though cicada noises may sound alike to humans, the insects use different calls to express alarm or attract mates.
Cicadas are also famous for their penchant for disappearing entirely for many years, only to reappear in force at a regular interval. There are some 3,000 cicada species, but only some share this behavior (the 17-year cicada is an example). Others are called annuals because, although individuals have multi-year lifecycles, some adults appear every year. The dog day cicada, for example, emerges each year in mid-summer.
When young cicada nymphs hatch from their eggs, they dig themselves into the ground to suck the liquids of plant roots. They spend several early life stages in these underground burrows before surfacing as adults. The process varies in length but often takes a number of years.
Periodical cicadas do not create destructive plagues, as some locusts do, though tens or hundreds of thousands of insects may crowd into a single acre. Large swarms can overwhelm and damage young trees by feeding and laying eggs, but older trees usually escape without serious damage.
Cicadas are members of the order Homoptera and are physically distinguished by their stout bodies, broad heads, clear-membrane wings, and large compound eyes.
The insect's amazing lifestyle has been a source of fascination since ancient times. Several cultures, such as the ancient Chinese, regarded these insects as powerful symbols of rebirth.
Other Flying Bugs
Animals
- Aardvark
- Adélie Penguin
- African Elephant
- African Lion
- African Wild Dog
- Albatross
- Alligator Snapping Turtle
- Amazon Horned Frog
- American Alligator
- American Bison
- American Bullfrog
- American Crocodile
- Ammonite
- Andean Condor
- Anglerfish
- Ankylosaurus Magniventris
- Ant
- Arabian (Dromedary) Camel
- Arctic Fox
- Arctic Hare
- Arctic Skua
- Armadillo
- Asian Elephant
- Asian Lion
- Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
- Atlantic Puffin
- Aye-Aye
- Baboon
- Bactrian Camel
- Bald Eagle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Beaver
- Beluga Whale
- Bengal Tiger
- Bird of Paradise
- Black Bear
- Black-Footed Ferret
- Black Mamba
- Black Rhinoceros
- Blacktip Shark
- Black Widow Spider
- Bluebird
- Blue Crab
- Blue-Footed Booby
- Blue Jay
- Blue Marlin
- Blue Whale
- Boa Constrictor
- Bobcat
- Bottlenose Dolphin
- Box Jellyfish
- Brachychampsa Montana
- Brown Bear
- Bull Shark
- Burmese Python
- Butterflyfish
- California Condor
- California Sea Lion
- Canada Goose
- Cane Toad
- Canvasback
- Caribou
- Carolina Wren
- Cheetah
- Chimpanzee
- Chipmunk
- Cicada
- Clouded Leopard
- Clown Anemonefish
- Coelacanth
- Common Earthworm
- Common Loon
- Common Octopus
- Common Sandpiper
- Common Vampire Bat
- Common Wombat
- Coral
- Cottontail Rabbit
- Coyote
- Cretoxyrhina Mantelli
- Cuban Screech Owl
- Cubera Snapper
- Deer Tick
- Devil Frog
- Dingo
- Dog Snapper
- Dolichorhynchops Osborni
- Domestic Cat
- Domestic Dog
- Draco Lizard
- Dugong
- Eastern Coral Snake
- Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
- Eastern Gray Kangaroo
- Egyptian Giant Solpugid (Camel Spider)
- Electric Eel
- Elephant Seal
- Elk
- Emperor Penguin
- Fennec Fox
- Firefly (Lightning Bug)
- Flying Fish
- Flying Snake
- Fossa
- Frilled Lizard
- Fur Seal
- Galápagos Tortoise
- Gelada
- Gentoo Penguin
- Geographic Cone Snail
- Giant Anteater
- Giant Clam
- Giant Pacific Octopus
- Giant Panda
- Giant River Otter
- Giant Squid
- Gibbon
- Gila Monster
- Giraffe
- Golden Cowrie
- Golden Eagle
- Golden Jellyfish
- Golden Lion Tamarin
- Golden Poison Dart Frog
- Gray Whale
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Greater Flamingo
- Greater Rhea
- Great Horned Owl
- Great White Shark
- Green Anaconda
- Green Basilisk Lizard
- Green-Eyed Tree Frog
- Green Iguana
- Green Sea Turtle
- Grizzly Bear
- Groundhog
- Hammerhead Shark
- Harbor Porpoise
- Harp Seal
- Hawaiian Monk Seal
- Hawksbill Sea Turtle
- Hedgehog
- Henodus Chelyops
- Hesperornis Regalis
- Hippopotamus
- Honeybee
- Horned Toad (Short-Horned Lizard)
- Hornet
- Horse
- Howler Monkey
- Humpback Whale
- Impala
- Indian Rhinoceros
- Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
- Jackrabbit
- Jaguar
- Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
- Killer Whale (Orca)
- King Cobra
- King Vulture
- Kinkajou
- Koala
- Komodo Dragon
- Krill
- Ladybug
- Laughing Kookaburra
- Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragon
- Leatherback Sea Turtle
- Leopard
- Leopard Seal
- Leptoceratops Gracilis
- Lesothosaurus Diagnosticus
- Lionfish
- Little Red Flying-Fox
- Llama
- Lobster
- Locust
- Loggerhead Sea Turtle
- Lynx
- Macaw
- Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
- Mallard Duck
- Manatee
- Mandrill
- Marine Iguana
- Matschie's Tree Kangaroo
- Meerkat
- Meller's Chameleon
- Mexican Axolotl
- Mola (Sunfish)
- Mole Rat
- Monarch Butterfly
- Mongoose
- Mononykus Olecranus
- Moose
- Mosquito
- Mountain Goat
- Mountain Gorilla
- Mountain Lion
- Mouse Lemur
- Mudpuppy
- Musk-Ox
- Narwhal
- Nile Crocodile
- North American River Otter
- Northern Leopard Frog
- Nudibranch
- Nurse Shark
- Nutria
- Ocelot
- Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
- Opossum
- Orangutan
- Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad
- Osprey
- Ostrich
- Oyster
- Ozark Big-Eared Bat
- Pachycephalosaurus Wyomingensis
- Parrot
- Parrot Fish
- Peacock
- Pelican
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Platecarpus
- Platypus
- Poison Dart Frog
- Polar Bear
- Porcupine
- Portuguese Man-of-War
- Prairie Dog
- Praying Mantis
- Proboscis Monkey
- Pronghorn
- Protosphyraena
- Protostega Gigas
- Przewalski's Horse
- Pufferfish
- Queen Angelfish
- Quetzal
- Raccoon
- Rainbow Trout
- Raven
- Red Crab
- Red-Eyed Tree Frog
- Red-Footed Booby
- Red Fox
- Red Kangaroo
- Red Leaf Monkey
- Red Panda
- Red-Tailed Hawk
- Red Uakari
- Rhesus Monkey
- Right Whale
- Ringed Seal
- Ring-Necked Pheasant
- Ring-Tailed Lemur
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
- Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
- Sailfish
- Saltwater Crocodile
- Sandhill Crane
- Sand Tiger Shark
- Scarab
- Scorpion
- Sea Anemone
- Sea Cucumber
- Seahorse
- Sea Otter
- Siberian Tiger
- Sifaka
- Skunk
- Sloth Bear
- Snow Goose
- Snow Leopard
- Snowshoe Hare
- Snowy Owl
- Sockeye Salmon
- Spectacled Bear
- Sperm Whale
- Spider Monkey
- Spotted Hyena
- Spotted Salamander
- Spring Peeper
- Squirrel
- Starfish (Sea Star)
- Steller Sea Lion
- Steller's Sea Eagle
- Stick Insect
- Stingray
- Styxosaurus Snowii
- Sumatran Rhinoceros
- Sun Bear
- Tapir
- Tarantula
- Tasmanian Devil
- Thescelosaurus Neglectus
- Thick-Billed Murre
- Thomson's Gazelle
- Three-Toed Sloth
- Tiger Salamander
- Tiger Shark
- Toucan
- Triceratops Horridus
- Triggerfish
- Troodon Formosus
- Tundra Swan
- Tusotheuthis Longa
- Two-Toed Sloth
- Tylosaurus Proriger
- Tyrannosaurus Rex
- Velociraptor Mongoliensis
- Wallaby
- Wallace's Flying Frog
- Walrus
- Warthog
- Warty Newt
- Wasp
- Water Buffalo
- Web-Footed Gecko
- Weddell Seal
- Western Lowland Gorilla
- Whale Shark
- White-Eared Kob
- White Rhinoceros
- White-Tailed Deer
- Whooping Crane
- Wildebeest
- Wild Turkey
- Wolf
- Wolverine
- Wood Stork
- Xiphactinus Audax
- Zebra
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