Click here for more animal facts
-
Cicadas are insects.
-
Cicada in Latin means tree cricket.
-
They live on every continent except Antarctica.
-
There are over 2,000 types of cicadas.
-
Some cicada’s are annuals meaning they come out every year or every couple of years.
-
Annual cicadas are dark with green markings. They come out in July and early August.
-
Periodical cicada’s come out every 17 years.
-
Periodical cicadas are dark with red eyes and come out in May or early June.
-
Periodical cicadas will come out in 2013 and again in 2030.
-
Periodical cicadas live in the Eastern US.
-
Cicadas live most of their life underground.
-
Cicadas have four wings.
-
Cicadas have a wingspan between 2.5 cm- 15cm wide.
-
When they are not flying cicada’s wings go back along the sides of their bodies.
-
Cicada’s are bad flyers and often bump into things.
-
Cicada’s have two large eyes on the sides of their heads. They have three very small eyes called ocelli (an eye having a single lens) that are on the top of their heads.
-
Cicada’s mouth is long and thin like a beak. It works like a straw to suck the sap from plants.
-
Cicadas are harmless to people. They don’t bite or sting.
-
Sometimes cicadas can damage trees by feeding off of them and laying eggs because there are so many of them.
-
Did you know that hundreds of thousands to one million cicadas can live on a single acre of land!
-
Cicadas are known for the loud noises they make sort of like crickets.
-
Male cicadas make loud noises with their tymbals. Their tymbals are located on the sides of their stomachs.
-
Males cicadas sounds are different pitches for different reasons. Some sounds are for attracting female mates and others are for keeping predators away.
-
Many animals like to eat cicadas when they come out. Some include rodents, birds, lizards, moles even fish.
-
Did you know that in some countries people like to eat cicadas too! Some people in countries like China, Congo in Africa, Latin America, Burma and Malaysia enjoy cicadas as a snack!
-
Female cicadas lay up to 600 eggs in tiny holes in trees and branches.
-
In about six weeks those eggs hatch into cicada nymphs.
-
When the nymphs hatch they fall from the tree and burrow themselves into the ground.
-
While in the ground they attach themselves to tree roots.
-
While attached to the tree roots they eat by sucking the sap from the trees.
-
The cicadas grow under ground.
-
As they get bigger they shed their skin and get new skin.
-
When the cicadas come out of the ground they attach to trees to shed skin and the adult cicada comes out.
-
An adult male cicada is called a imago.
-
Adult cicadas live above ground for about six weeks.
-
While above ground cicadas have a lot of work to do.
-
While above ground male cicadas make noise to attract females. Females lay eggs and the process starts again.
-
In some countries cicadas are a symbol of rebirth.