One of the most fascinating insects that I have heard about is the cicada. Cicadas belong to the group known as Magicicadad, which are invertebrate. The cicada is also related to the Harvest fly. There are two main groups of cicadas. You can recognize them from other insects by looking for a black body with dark, orange veined wings. Cicadas also have large, bright red eyes and reddish brown legs. Their wingspan from tip to tip is 4½ inches. They can get up to 3 inches long.

Most cicadas live in the range of Colorado and other southwestern states but you can still find them in Canton. Cicadas usually live in grasslands, fields and in the forest. The living and nonliving items that make up a cicada’s habitat are trees, roots, twigs and soil. One special feature that cicadas are born with are wings to fly away from its enemies.

When cicadas are larvae they live under ground and feed on the roots of trees. As an adult they live at the top of trees and call for their mate. Cicadas can only keep them selves from being on another animal’s plate by flying away. The way a cicada interacts with nature is by killing young saplings. Most of the time cicadas interact with humans by annoying us with its loud bug call and scaring us with its unusual looks.

Most adult cicadas live from thirty to forty days after coming above ground. They use this time by making loud bug calls. After beginning the calls they rarely ever stop. After the cicadas mate the female lays her eggs in split twigs. The cicada does not take care of their young for immediately after laying her eggs the female drops off the twig and dies. When the eggs hatch the larvae wriggles under ground and starts to turn into a cicada. In their heads there is a little alarm clock that tells them when to come out of the ground. They usually come up in big groups called broods. This usually happens every thirteen to seventeen years.

A few interesting facts I learned while studying the cicada is that the larvae can stay underground for seventeen years. Another fact I learned is that the male cicada’s mating call is the loudest bug call in the world. A group of male cicada’s calls are so loud that it can damage your ears. One last fact I learned is that a female cicada can lay from four hundred to six hundred eggs. When cicadas hatch there seems to be way to many so there is no risk for extinction. All in all, I think the cicada is a very interesting and amazing bug.