Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / True bugs and cicadas
Sticker of Common cicada
Bug card No. 0309 of 1,500

Common cicada

Cicada orni
Name means: “cicada is Latin for buzzer, and orni probably comes from the flowering ash tree where it lays its eggs”
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasGardens and meadows6 legs

The common cicada is the summer singer of southern Europe. It is brown or grey, so it hides well on tree bark, and its clear wings have little black spots. On hot days the males click and buzz together from the sunny branches.

Lives in
Southern and central Europe and the Near East, in trees and bushes
Length
2.5 cm (0.98 in)
Wingspan
7 cm (2.8 in)
Top speed
about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting, it only sings.
What does it eat?
It pokes its long, straw-like mouth into trees and bushes and drinks the sap. Its babies live underground and suck juice from plant roots.
For real!Photo of Common cicada
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Common cicada about 2.5 cm long (0.98 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)

How wide are its wings?

Common cicada wings about 7 cm tip to tip (2.8 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 4 grains of rice in a rowwings as wide as 2 toy building brickscould fly across a whole football pitch in 38 secondsmoves 110 times its own body length every second

How big is Common cicada compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Only the males sing. They make the sound by quickly clicking thin skins on their belly.

2

Its young live underground for several years, but a grown-up cicada lives only about six weeks.

3

Besides its two big eyes, it has three tiny extra eyes on top of its head.

4

When a female comes near, the two hug and touch each other with their legs.

5

The mother lays her eggs deep inside tree branches.

you asked

Most asked questions about Common cicada

?Why do cicadas make so much noise?

The males sing to call the females. Many of them sing together in the sun.

?Do cicadas bite or sting?

No. A cicada is harmless and only drinks plant sap.

?How long does a cicada live?

Its young live underground for several years. The grown-up lives only about a month and a half.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Cicada orni
Named by
Linnaeus, 1758
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Cicadidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Cicadidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia
Also known as
Ash cicada

Where the facts come from

  1. Cicada orni (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 Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same 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.

More from the same group: True bugs and cicadas

Pharaoh cicadaTrue bugs and cicadasSpotted lanternflyTrue bugs and cicadasBrown marmorated stink bugTrue bugs and cicadasCochinealTrue bugs and cicadasBoxelder bugTrue bugs and cicadasWestern conifer seed bugTrue bugs and cicadas

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

European crane flyFlies and mosquitoesSilky antAntsRainbow leaf beetleBeetlesCommon grass yellowButterfliesSwollen-thighed beetleBeetlesCommon striped woodlouseWoodlice