Did you know that cicadas don't sing until they explode?
That's right, dear reader! Contrary to popular belief, cicadas do not sing until they explode. What happens is the process of transition from nymph to adulthood. Are you curious to understand how it works? So read on and find out how this transformation takes place.
Metamorphosis
The cicada is an insect of incomplete metamorphosis, a process that in biology is called hemimetabolism and consists of the transition egg → nymph → insect → adult. Depending on the cicada species, nymphs can live on land from one to 17 years old, feeding on the sap of plant roots. After this period of their lives, they dig tunnels, climb trees and undergo a metamorphosis, the ecdysis, becoming mature and ready for mating!
To avoid their predators, the nymphs wait until night to come out of the tunnels. Then they look for the first vertical surface they find, be it a tree or a wall. The climb is long and tiring for the animals, which can climb up to two meters high. After waiting a while, a slit appears in his back, and it is through this that the adult cicada will come out.
When the cicada rises to transform, it is still nymph-shaped, with its shell (hard exoskeleton). After the process is complete, only that famous cone with a crack at the top remains behind. She is responsible for the famous myth that the cicada sings until it explodes. Even after ecdysis, the bark remains trapped where the cicada has metamorphosed, thus giving the impression that the animal died on the spot.
Check out some images of a cicada going through the ecdise!
* Text and images by our reader Izalete Tavares.
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