Pharaoh Cicada
Magicicada septendecim
Also known as: Linnaeus' 17-year Cicada · Northern Pharaoh Periodical Cicada
Insecta
NEAR THREATENED
Stats
- Lifespan
- 17 yrs
- Size
- Large
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Social
- Colony
- Biome
- Temperate deciduous forest
- Range
- North America
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Near Threatened
About
The Pharaoh Cicada is the largest of the periodical cicadas, spending 17 years underground as a nymph before emerging in massive synchronized broods to sing, mate, and die within a few weeks. Its orange-veined wings and red eyes make it unmistakable during the rare years it surfaces across the eastern United States.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
- 2.juvenileAn immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
- 3.subadultA near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
- 4.adultFully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Hemiptera
- Family
- Cicadidae
- Genus
- Magicicada
- Species
- Magicicada septendecim