So, what do cicada larvae look like? Technically they’re called nymphs, not larvae. When cicadas progress from one stage of development to another, they molt, rather than pupate. Each stage of development is called an instar. Most, if not all, cicadas go through five instars. The adult phase is the fifth instar.
First, here’s what their eggs look like:
Photo by Roy Troutman.
When the eggs hatch, the cicadas don’t look like a grub or maggot as you might expect; instead they look like tiny termites or ants, with 6 legs and antennae. At this point, they’re called first instar nymphs.
Here’s some first instar cicadas:
Photo by Roy Troutman.
Here is a first and second instar cicada in the soil:
Photo by Elias Bonaros.
Here is a first, second, third and fourth instar:
Photo courtesy of Chris Simon.
If you are interested in participating in cicada nymph research, visit The Simon Lab Nymph Tracking Project page for more information. You must have had periodical cicadas on your property in past 13 or 17 years to find the nymphs — not including the Brood II area since those nymphs came out of the ground this year.
My ears are super sensitive. One cicada will almost drive me batty. I’m in northwest Florida. Panhandle. Very close to South Georgia. My new trick. Super power Waterhouse and I spray the tops of my oak trees. Do you hear that. Crickets… LOL
Howdy from Georgia. We have had cicades for 16 years. So many and so loud it effects our sleep and peace and quiet. Between the whippoorwill that decided to live in my back yard and the cicades…..-sleepless in Georgia
Hello,
I have had 3 cicadas appear in the last 2 nights, in SW Michigan.
I have not seen one since we were chased out of the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago IL because of a 17 yr hatching when I was much younger, possibly 1987 or around then. The trees were pulsing with layers of these flying things! There had to be millions of them. Was I witness to a certain ‘brood’?
I tend to do pest control here, but don’t recall ever seeing these holes or the crusts of the 4th stage of life, or seeing these huge flying parasites here before. I was looking for information on how many larvae each cicada might lay, and if you have information on this area, what might we expect from this hatching? We have several dying trees around our patio, but I have only found these 3 up close to the house next to the patio. Should we protect the trees we want to keep, and if so, how?
hi! i love this site! cicadas fascinate me, but i thought i was the only one!! thank you!!!
I posted a PDF on the homepage which can be used for coloring.
Great site! However, I’m looking for simple illustrations I can give to kids to color. I have a good info sheet but
I thought a coloring page (especially for the young ones) might make them seem a little more familiar.