What are Cacadas - Ask Extension
What are cicadas and how do you control them
Knowledgebase
What are Cacadas #862697
Asked March 28, 2024, 8:48 AM EDT
What are cicadas and how do you control them
Jackson County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Jan,
Cicadas are cool, fairly large insect from the family Cicadidae (Order: Hemiptera).
You may have been hearing about the upcoming emergence of cicadas in the national news. Those cicadas are called periodical cicadas (Magicicada species) and they have spectacularly large emergences of adults every 13 or 17 years depending on the species. However, periodical cicadas are only in the eastern US.
Here is a link to a site where you can learn more about periodical cicadas if you are interested...
https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/where-will-17-13-year-periodical-cicadas-emerge-next/
In Oregon, we do not have periodical cicadas, but we do have other cicadas that appear every year, but never have spectacularly large adult emergences. The species we have are in the genera Okanagana, Platypedia and Neoplatypedia.
Adult cicadas can live a couple weeks, but the entire lifespan (including the nymph stages) of the species that occur here is about 2-5 years. Our species have overlapping generations, so some adults emerge every year. The adults do feed on sap a little, but generally not enough to cause damage. Cicada eggs are deposited into twigs at the end of tree branches. This can cause wilting or killing of a few branch tips, but this is usually not enough to harm a healthy plant. Once the eggs hatch, the nymphs drop to the ground where they burrow into the soil to feed on roots for a few years until they are ready to become adults.
Some other fun information about cicadas is that they communicate with each other through sound. Around here, Okanagana species make the buzzing sound you typically think of a cicada singing. The Platypedia and Neoplatypedia species do not produce the buzzing sound, but instead, use their wings to make clicking sounds. The males are the ones that make these sounds, which are used to attract females.
Here is where you can listen to the sounds produced by different cicada species...
http://www.insectsingers.com/100th_meridian_cicadas/western_species.html
Cicadas are also food for other animals. Adult cicadas are fed upon by various mammals, birds and reptiles. There are also special wasps in the genus Sphecius called cicada killers. The adult females of these wasps sting and paralyze cicadas and carry them back to their nests to provide food for their larvae. I'm sure some animals also feed on cicada nymphs underground, but I'm not sure what they are.
Because the cicadas around here don't do any appreciable damage and they provide food for other animals, there is no reason to kill them or discourage them.
Hope that helps!
Enjoy!
Cicadas are cool, fairly large insect from the family Cicadidae (Order: Hemiptera).
You may have been hearing about the upcoming emergence of cicadas in the national news. Those cicadas are called periodical cicadas (Magicicada species) and they have spectacularly large emergences of adults every 13 or 17 years depending on the species. However, periodical cicadas are only in the eastern US.
Here is a link to a site where you can learn more about periodical cicadas if you are interested...
https://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/where-will-17-13-year-periodical-cicadas-emerge-next/
In Oregon, we do not have periodical cicadas, but we do have other cicadas that appear every year, but never have spectacularly large adult emergences. The species we have are in the genera Okanagana, Platypedia and Neoplatypedia.
Adult cicadas can live a couple weeks, but the entire lifespan (including the nymph stages) of the species that occur here is about 2-5 years. Our species have overlapping generations, so some adults emerge every year. The adults do feed on sap a little, but generally not enough to cause damage. Cicada eggs are deposited into twigs at the end of tree branches. This can cause wilting or killing of a few branch tips, but this is usually not enough to harm a healthy plant. Once the eggs hatch, the nymphs drop to the ground where they burrow into the soil to feed on roots for a few years until they are ready to become adults.
Some other fun information about cicadas is that they communicate with each other through sound. Around here, Okanagana species make the buzzing sound you typically think of a cicada singing. The Platypedia and Neoplatypedia species do not produce the buzzing sound, but instead, use their wings to make clicking sounds. The males are the ones that make these sounds, which are used to attract females.
Here is where you can listen to the sounds produced by different cicada species...
http://www.insectsingers.com/100th_meridian_cicadas/western_species.html
Cicadas are also food for other animals. Adult cicadas are fed upon by various mammals, birds and reptiles. There are also special wasps in the genus Sphecius called cicada killers. The adult females of these wasps sting and paralyze cicadas and carry them back to their nests to provide food for their larvae. I'm sure some animals also feed on cicada nymphs underground, but I'm not sure what they are.
Because the cicadas around here don't do any appreciable damage and they provide food for other animals, there is no reason to kill them or discourage them.
Hope that helps!
Enjoy!
