The sudden, loud appearance of cicadas, often in massive numbers, makes them one of nature’s most noticeable insects. Their collective sound is a familiar sign of summer or a rare, synchronized emergence. When they emerge from the ground and fill the air with noise, the question arises: do these large, noisy insects actually fly? The answer is definitively yes; flight is a fundamental aspect of the adult cicada’s short life above ground.
Adult Flight Capabilities
Adult cicadas possess a robust flight apparatus, utilizing two pairs of large, membranous wings: the forewings and the hindwings. During flight, a specialized mechanism allows the forewings and hindwings to couple together, essentially making the two pairs function as one large wing on each side of the body.
Their powerful thoracic muscles generate the lift and thrust required to support their relatively heavy bodies. The majority of the total lift is generated during the downward stroke of the wings. This flight capability allows them to cover significant distances, moving between trees and across open spaces.
Despite being strong enough for sustained flight, cicadas often appear erratic or clumsy to human observers. Their flight path can seem unpredictable, sometimes resulting in accidental collisions. This apparent lack of coordination reflects their primary focus, which is directed movement for reproduction, not evasive maneuverability.
Movement During the Life Cycle
A cicada’s ability to move transitions dramatically over its lifespan, contrasting the mobility of the nymph with that of the adult. For the vast majority of their lives, cicadas exist as nymphs underground. In this subterranean phase, their movement is limited to crawling and digging through the soil using their strong front legs to feed on the sap from plant roots.
The nymph stage culminates when the insect tunnels to the surface and crawls up a vertical structure, such as a tree trunk. The nymph then sheds its rigid exoskeleton, a process called molting, to emerge as a soft-bodied adult.
It is only after this final molt that the insect’s wings inflate with fluid, expand, and harden, granting the cicada its aerial ability. Flight is strictly limited to the brief adult phase, which lasts only a few weeks. The cast-off shells left clinging to trees serve as a visible reminder of this transition.
Purpose of Aerial Movement
The primary reason adult cicadas take to the air is reproduction. Flight is crucial for adult dispersal, enabling them to move from emergence sites to locate suitable mates. Male cicadas generate loud songs to attract females to chorusing centers, which are often specific trees or groups of trees.
Once mated, flight serves the additional purpose of locating appropriate host plants for egg-laying. The female uses her specialized ovipositor to cut slits into the bark of small twigs or branches where she deposits her eggs. This movement is essential for starting the next generation.
In this brief adult phase, the cicada does not feed substantially, relying instead on accumulated energy reserves. The ability to fly allows them to maximize reproductive output by moving efficiently to find mates and disperse eggs before their short adult lifespan concludes.