I am not a bug person so I am surprised that when I saw what looked like a giant grub that I did just say yuck and run away! I told Rick to come look at it and he said he thought it was a Cicada. As I watched it move around on the ground and then onto the landscaping fabric I was amazed to see wings appear.
When I first saw the Cicada the wings just looked like a small green bump on the side of it. I wish I had thought to take a picture when I first saw it. The above picture is about 5 minutes after I saw it.
The wings just kept getting bigger and bigger.
When the wings were fully inflated they were really quite beautiful. They were almost translucent but I could see the greens in them. Again I am not a bug person but I just could not believe the beauty of it.
Cicadas begin life as a rice-shaped egg, which the female deposits in a groove she makes in a tree limb, using her ovipositor. The groove provides shelter and exposes the tree fluids, which the young cicadas feed on. These grooves can kill small branches. When the branches die and leaves turn brown, it is called flagging.
Once the egg hatches the cicada begins to feed on the tree fluids. At this point it looks like a termite or small white ant. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig until it finds roots to feed on. Once roots are found the cicada will stay underground from 2 to 17 years depending on the species. Cicadas are active underground, tunneling and feeding.
After the long 2 to 17 years, cicadas emerge from the ground as nymphs. Nymphs climb the nearest available tree, and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. Free of their old skin, their wings will inflate with fluid and their adult skin will harden. Once their new wings and body are ready, they can begin their brief adult life.
Adult cicadas, also called imagoes, spend their time in trees looking for a mate. Males sing, females respond, mating begins, and the cycle of life begins again.
It is so amazing to me that they are underground for 2 to 17 years! Who would have know.Cicadas begin life as a rice-shaped egg, which the female deposits in a groove she makes in a tree limb, using her ovipositor. The groove provides shelter and exposes the tree fluids, which the young cicadas feed on. These grooves can kill small branches. When the branches die and leaves turn brown, it is called flagging.
Once the egg hatches the cicada begins to feed on the tree fluids. At this point it looks like a termite or small white ant. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig until it finds roots to feed on. Once roots are found the cicada will stay underground from 2 to 17 years depending on the species. Cicadas are active underground, tunneling and feeding.
After the long 2 to 17 years, cicadas emerge from the ground as nymphs. Nymphs climb the nearest available tree, and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. Free of their old skin, their wings will inflate with fluid and their adult skin will harden. Once their new wings and body are ready, they can begin their brief adult life.
Adult cicadas, also called imagoes, spend their time in trees looking for a mate. Males sing, females respond, mating begins, and the cycle of life begins again.
I case you do not know what I Cicada sound like you can hear it here A lot of people hate the noise of them but not me. They are the sound of summer for me.
So I count myself very luck to have seen the cicada as it began it's adult life. Nature is truly amazing.
Sharon
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