Cicadas are often called locusts, but they really aren’t.
Locusts are grasshoppers and belong to a different group of insects, along with crickets and katydids. Cicadas are their own group. Right now, we have two kinds of cicadas making all the noise. They are the same genus but different species. A slightly larger golden-brown one and a drab, greenish one. Both have white bellies. The green one has a slightly higher pitched song. Only male cicadas sing. They do this to attract mates. Singing starts when the temperature reaches 82°F.
There are two groups of cicadas. The annual cicadas and the periodical cicadas. Annual cicadas are the dogday cicadas we hear during the hot summer months of July and August. They will also be around in June and September if the months are hot enough. This year we started hearing them in June.
Cicadas spend most of their lives underground as nymphs. Dogday cicadas spend 3 years underground, feeding on the sap of tree roots, then they climb out of the ground and become adults. However, different broods that emerge each year. That’s why we hear them every summer. Adult cicadas do not feed.
Periodical cicadas spend 13 or 17 years underground as nymphs, then emerge to become adults. Millions will emerge and live for 2 weeks. During that time, they will mate, lay eggs and die. We have 17-year cicadas in Oklahoma. The last emergence was in 2015, so the next one will be in 2032. If I’m still around in ’32, I’ll be 91 and no longer writing Nature Notes, so remember the date.
