06/12/2026
This time of year, you might hear this week’s pretty often, meet the cicada.
Cicadas are a large insect with a mouthpart that sucks -- literally! They use this to feed on water and mineral transporting tissue called xylem from trees and shrubs. Adults will have prominent bulging eyes, a straw-like mouthpart (sucking!) and transparent wings. The adults can vary in size and color according to the type of cicada, two of which are found in the eastern United States. One type is the dog-day or annual cicada, Neotibicen spp., which emerges every summer (June through August). The other is the periodical cicada, Magicicada spp., which emerges every 13 or 17 years depending on the species.
Cicada nymphs live underground and emerge from the soil during the spring or summer. Once they molt into adults, they fly to nearby vertical structures, especially shrubs and trees, where the males will start their droning mating song to attract females. They create their songs through vibrating membranes located on the sides of the insect beneath their wings. Once the adults mate, the
females deposit eggs in batches of 20-30 eggs within pencil-thin branches of more than 200 kinds of woody plants. After about six weeks, the eggs hatch and the nymphs drop into the ground and burrow into the soil. While they’re in the soil, they feed on the sap of tree roots.
Nymphs resemble wingless adults, with tan-brown stout bodies, and strong front legs specialized for digging and tunneling in the soil. They undergo four molts (growth spurts) while underground.
Cicadas pose no health threats to people or pets, although pets should not consume large amounts. The only damage cicadas can cause to plants results from their egg laying habits as females use an appendage called an ovipositor to gouge slits into the twigs to deposit the eggs. Adults do not feed on the leaves of plants.
Want to learn more about cicadas? Visit University of Maryland Extension: https://mocoparks.org/4v2G3uF
