Cicada Metamorphosis

This animation is a large file which may take a few moments to download, depending upon your connection speed.  

Photo: © Gerry Bishop 

 Cicada Emergence 

After seventeen years of maturing, millions of cicada nymphs appear from the ground at once. They cling to vertical surfaces—usually trees—where they leave behind their shells and emerge as adults. 

Species: Periodic Cicada 

This "time lapse" series of photos shows you in a few seconds what actually takes a cicada several hours to accomplish!

It can take an hour or two for the cicada to fully emerge from its "shell" and unfurl its wings. The new adult cicada then slowly darkens from a pale yellowish-white to a deep greenish-black.

The dark spots—visible below the cicada's head—are false "eye spots" meant to keep away predators while the cicada completes its transformation.