This morning’s discovery with the boys was special. Moments after examining a fully-formed adult, on our backyard play structure, we observed a cicada of the genus, Tibicen, emerging from it’s nymphal exoskeleton. I haven’t seen this final molt up close since the Brood X emergence of the 17-year periodical cicadas back in 2004 when we lived in Virginia.

Tibicen cicadas emerge in the “dog days” of late summer and early fall. I remember hearing one when I was a young boy. Not knowing what it was nor how to easily find out (thank goodness we have the Internet today), my father thought it was the power line next to our house cooling off. It was only when I began working at the Leslie Science and Nature Center fifteen years ago, that another naturalist was able to identify the sound for me. Since then, I’ve enjoyed searching for these large insects.

Tibicen cicadas have been out for a couple of weeks now. They begin calling after noon and in early evening, with an intermittent buzzing sound, occasionally flying overhead. Recordings of their call can be heard on the University of Michigan’s “Cicadas of Michigan” webpage. Only male cicadas call by blowing air past two hard plates, called tymbals, on their underside between their legs and flexible abdomen. Females can be identified by their ovipositor, a spike on the tail end of their abdomen, which they use to scratch through the bark of twigs on the end of trees to deposit their eggs.

Depending on the species, cicadas spend 2-17 years underground as nymphs sucking the juice out of tree roots. Adults also use their piercing and sucking mouth parts to obtain fluid from trees. Cicada nymphs look quite similar to the adult body form, except without fully developed wings. As they grow, nymphs will shed their exoskeleton, like a snake sheds its skin.

In their final stage, called the instar, cicada nymphs tunnel above ground and climb several feet above ground and emerge into a fully formed adult. Once out of their exoskeleton, cicadas will rest for several hours as their adult “skin” hardens. Their exoskeletons can be found on trees, fences, walls, on pretty much anything above ground. It’s exciting for children to collect these “cicada shells” as they play outside.

Should you be lucky enough to find an adult cicada, it’s okay to pick it up and examine it. Be prepared for it to flap it’s wings for several minutes. Their mouthparts will most likely not be a bother to humans. Besides determining if it’s a male or female, be sure to examine all five eyes - cicadas have three small eyes between their two larger eyes. Release your cicada by placing it on a tree trunk so that it can mate and continue it’s life cycle.

I’ve seen cicadas being eaten by squirrels and hunted by the large, cicada killer wasps, who paralyze a cicada and carry it to their nest hole in the ground to feed to their young. Cicada killer wasps, rarely sting humans and are surprisingly swift in carrying their cicada prey.

Stefan Szumko is a full-time homedaddy and part-time outdoor environmental educator at the Leslie Science and Nature Center. He can be contacted via email at slugwhisperer@gmail.com.