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Summer is here and so are the cicadas! A top insect expert explains whether cicadas are dangerous, if they bite, what they are, and more.
When periodical cicadas emerge in all their millions after spending years underground, the males sing their loud courtship song. After mating, the females lay their eggs.
Periodical cicadas don’t pose a threat to humans — or pets, although their egg-laying may put newly planted trees or shrubs at risk. But periodical cicadas will not kill healthy, mature trees.
Hundreds of thousands of the tiny wind-soaring and itch-inducing critters can fall from trees every day and are packed with a venom that can paralyze prey 166,000 times their size.
What they do have, though, is a drinking straw-like appendage coming from their mouths that they use to suck up sap—but that won’t hurt you. “Cicadas are not dangerous to people, animals ...
Cicada nymphs drink sap from the xylem of various species of trees, including oak, cypress, willow, ash, and maple. While common folklore indicates that adults do not eat, they actually do drink plant sap using their sucking mouthparts. [58] [59] Cicadas excrete fluid in streams of droplets due to their high volume consumption of xylem sap. [60]
Cicadas have many predators because of their relatively few defenses. A multitude of mammals, birds, reptilians, and arthropods consume cicadas. Cicada killer wasps frequently attack Megatibicen cicadas. The female wasp's keen eye scans trees and vegetation in search of prey. After locating a cicada, the wasp stings it, injecting paralyzing venom.
According to Clemson University, cicadas are thick-bodied, plant-feeding insects that can be found clinging to trees and vegetation. They measure 1-2 inches long and have compound eyes in shades ...