ScientificName: Magicicada

Description:  Cicadas are stocky insects with prominent eyes and semi-transparent wings which fold against the body. They are 1 - 1 5/8 inches in length. Brown-black or greenish. Sometimes yellow on thorax and mouthparts. The wings are a brownish green.

Habitat/Food: Cicadas live in trees and surrounding habitats.

Life Cycle: After mating, the female cuts slits into the bark of a twig, and into these she deposits her eggs. She may do so repeatedly, until she has laid several hundred eggs. When the eggs hatch, the newborn nymphs drop to the ground, where they burrow. Most cicadas go through a life cycle that lasts from two to five years.

Organic Control: You can use Horticultural oils, Hot pepper wax, Rotenone Pyrethrins and others to protect against Cicadas.

Interesting Fact: Cicadas make a high-pitched, shrill sound which announces there presence to other cicadas.

Problems Caused:It's the female that harms trees. Choosing deciduous trees, she cuts two slits in small pencil sized (or smaller) branches and twigs, and lays about 24 eggs. She then goes on to another twig and repeats the process. A female cicada can deposit up to 600 eggs. Where infestations are heavy, the egg laying process is repeated on a tremendous number of twigs. This causes the twigs(or ends of the tree) to die, and often break off. With a heavy infestation, it often destroys young trees and bushes. While the damage may look bad on large trees, a mature tree can usually survive the damage.