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Sticker of Little 17-year cicada
Bug card No. 2631 of 4,939

Little 17-year cicada

Magicicada septendecula
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasForests and woods6 legs

The little 17-year cicada lives one of the longest lives of any insect. It spends most of those years hidden under the ground as a baby. It lives only in the United States.

Lives in
The United States
Top speed
about 12 km/h (7.5 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Cicadas do not sting and are not dangerous.
What does it eat?
Its babies live underground and drink sap from tree roots for many years.
For real!Photo of Little 17-year cicada
Picture by Fontaine K, Cooley J, Simon C (2007). CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

From egg to old age, it usually lives about 17 years.

2

Some live a bit shorter or longer, anywhere from 13 to 21 years.

3

Periodical cicadas like it all climb out of the ground in the same year, so there can be huge numbers at once.

you asked

Most asked questions about Little 17-year cicada

?How long does the little 17-year cicada live?

Usually about 17 years, but it can be anywhere from 13 to 21 years.

?Where does the little 17-year cicada live?

Only in the United States.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Magicicada septendecula
Named by
Alexander & Moore, 1962
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Cicadidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Cicadidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Magicicada septendecula (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Fontaine K, Cooley J, Simon C (2007). CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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