Cicadas are insects recognized for their distinct buzzing sounds and periodic emergences. They interact with plants throughout their life cycle, from their subterranean nymph stage to their brief adult phase above ground.
Common Host Plants
Cicadas primarily feed on the sap of woody plants, including a wide array of deciduous trees and shrubs. Nymphs spend the majority of their lives underground, feeding on fluids from tree roots. Adult cicadas, upon emergence, shift their feeding to the young twigs and small branches.
While cicadas are not highly selective, they do show preferences for certain species. Commonly favored host plants include oaks, maples, hickories, ash, and dogwood. Fruit trees such as apple, peach, cherry, plum, and pear are also frequently targeted. Other susceptible plants can include willow, elm, birch, linden, hawthorn, redbud, and crabapple. Coniferous trees, such as pines, are generally less affected because their needles can obstruct egg-laying and their sap can trap eggs.
How Cicadas Feed
Cicadas possess specialized piercing-sucking mouthparts, often referred to as a proboscis or beak, which they use to extract plant fluids. This beak contains needle-like stylets that allow them to penetrate the plant’s surface. Cicadas primarily tap into the xylem, the vascular tissue responsible for transporting water and dissolved minerals from the roots throughout the plant.
Nymphs use their strong front legs to burrow and attach themselves to tree and shrub roots, continuously drawing sap to sustain their long developmental period. When they first hatch, tiny nymphs may feed on grass roots before moving to larger tree roots as they grow. Adult feeding is typically minimal and less impactful on a plant’s overall health compared to egg-laying damage.
Assessing Plant Damage
The most noticeable plant damage from cicadas results from the female’s egg-laying activity, rather than their feeding. Female cicadas use a saw-like organ called an ovipositor to cut small slits into the bark of young, pencil-sized branches, typically between 1/8 to 1/2 inch in diameter. These incisions, often appearing in rows, can weaken the branch and disrupt the flow of nutrients.
A common sign of this damage is “flagging,” where the tips of affected branches wilt, turn brown, and may eventually die. While this can appear dramatic, mature, healthy trees generally recover from flagging and replace the damaged growth. However, young trees, newly planted saplings, or those with many slender branches are more susceptible to severe damage, which can stunt their growth or even lead to their demise. The characteristic V-shaped or zipper-like scars left by the ovipositor distinguish cicada damage from other forms of branch dieback.