Description of Cicadas from 1866

1. How would you describe a cicada?
2. When did the first cicada appear?
3. What is a cicada look like?
4. What is the life cycle of cicadas?

How would you describe a cicada?

cicada, (family Cicadidae), any of a group of sound-producing insects (order Homoptera) that have two pairs of membranous wings, prominent compound eyes, and three simple eyes (ocelli). Cicadas are medium to large in size, ranging from 2 to 5 cm (0.8 to 2 inches).

When did the first cicada appear?

Cicadas have been around somewhere between 40 million and 200 million years. The earliest Cicadas are found in fossil beds from the Jurassic period.

What is a cicada look like?

Cicadas are 1 - 1 1/2 inches long. They are stout with a green or brown body and black markings on the body. They have four, clear, fly-like wings and the first pair is much longer than their abdomen. The wings which are folded over their back look like a tent.

What is the life cycle of cicadas?

Shortly after a 17-year cicada nymph hatches from its egg, it burrows into the ground, where it spends—as its name suggests—the first 17 years of its life. When it emerges from the ground, it lives only four to six more weeks—just long enough to mate, fertilize or lay eggs, and start the cycle all over again.