You might ask, what do cicadas symbolize? What are cicadas a metaphor for?
Cicadas, for many people, represent personal change, renewal, rebirth, and transformation.
Unlike a butterfly, moth, or other insects that undergo complete metamorphosis, cicadas have no pupal state. They transform from one fully-functioning state (instar) to another — one viable form, in a small amount of time, changing to another. The cicada’s transformation is like that of human beings. If a person wants or needs to make a change in their life, they do not enclose themselves in a pod and emerge next spring (I suppose some might) — more likely they remain in their human form as they change.
People use cicadas to symbolize their own personal transformation, in art, song, poetry, or even a tattoo. The cicada inherently symbolizes what they were — earth-bound, nymphs –and all the glory of what they have become — adults with wings & a song.
Cicadas can also be a symbol for a musician or singer since they sing.
Since cicadas sing mostly during the summer months, they are a symbol of summer and a precursor to the harvest.
Watch some cicada transformations:
An aside:
Although cicadas are bugs that are around in June, actual “June Bugs” are not cicadas. They are leaf-eating beetles belonging to the genus Phyllophaga.
