Cicadas

Many people have heard but never seen a Cicada.  That whirring buzzing clicking sound you hear in the summer air is a male Cicada.  Vibrating membranes on the insect's abdomen create this sound.  You might call it a love song.

After the loving, the female cuts a slit in a young twig and deposits eggs.  Now the parent Cicadas have fulfilled their life's purpose and die.

When the eggs hatch the nymphs (wingless segmented creatures resembling a grub with sturdy legs and big eyes) fall to the ground and burrow into the dirt.  They remain underground sucking on root juices and growing for years, the number of years depends on the species and things like latitude and weather and other mysterious forces that effect bugs.

When the nymph reaches adulthood he emerges from the ground and climbs a tree.  The skin on his back splits open, peels back and out comes the adult Cicada. 

Some Cicada Facts

-  approximately 3,000 species

-  adult life span:  1 week

-  nymph life span:  1 to 20 years

-  adults have 4 wings

-  range:  throughout the US and southern Canada

-  adult size:  1 - 2.5 inches long 

To listen to the love songs visit :   http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/Michigan_Cicadas/Michigan/Index.html

picture shared by:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/cicada/