cicada: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026

News •

Summer’s loudest insect is coming. It could save us from a deadly crisis • Nov. 4, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (Sydney Morning Herald)

Photos and Videos

Labeled diagram of a cicada with its right wings removed, showing internal features such as the intestine, ventriculus, esophagus, reproductive organ, air chamber, tympanic muscle, spiracles, ganglia, and beak.

Labeled diagram of a cicada showing its external anatomy, including detailed parts of the wings, legs, head, and body such as forewing, hindwing, antenna, spiracle, tympanum, and copulatory organ.

A newly emerged cicada hangs upside down from its brown exoskeleton on a branch, with its soft, pale green body still unfolding during the final molting stage.

Close-up of a Magicicada septendecim cicada with red eyes and transparent veined wings perched on green leaves.

Cicada and shell

A 17-year periodical cicada (Magicicada) with transparent wings and orange legs clings to a blade of grass, photographed in North Carolina.

Magicicada; teneral cicada

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Close-up of two 17-year cicadas with black bodies and orange eyes, perched on a branch, with a blurred green and brown background.

Why do some cicadas appear every 17 years?

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Topics

Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?Why are cicadas so noisy?entomophagy cicada-killer wasp homopteran short-horned grasshopper plant hopper

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