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Sticker of Giant cicada
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Giant cicada

Quesada gigas
Eats: PlantsTrue bugs and cicadasRainforests and jungles6 legs

The giant cicada is one of the biggest cicadas in North America. Its black, green and brown pattern helps it hide on tree bark. But you can surely hear it: its song is so loud and shrill that people say it sounds like a siren or a whistle.

Lives in
From Texas through Mexico and Central America all the way to Argentina
Top speed
about 12 km/h (7.5 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It is very loud, but it does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Young cicadas live underground and drink juice from tree roots. Grown-ups feed on many different kinds of plants.
For real!Photo of Giant cicada
Picture by Tomás Carranza Perales Depicted place: Ledesma, Jujuy, Argentina ( 23°45′29″S 64°51′03″W  /  23.7579577747°S 64.8507493127°W  / -23.7579577747; -64.850749312. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The young cicadas spend at least four years underground before they climb out as adults.

2

It lives over a bigger area than any other cicada in the Americas.

3

It sings mostly at dusk, but in warmer places it can sing all day and sometimes all night.

4

Its song sounds almost the same everywhere it lives, from Texas to Argentina.

5

Only the males sing. Cicadas tell each other apart by their songs, not by their looks.

you asked

Most asked questions about Giant cicada

?Why is the giant cicada so loud?

The males sing a loud, shrill song to call females. It can sound like a siren.

?How long does a giant cicada live underground?

The young cicadas stay underground for at least four years.

?Is the giant cicada dangerous?

No. It is harmless to people.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Quesada gigas
Named by
Olivier, 1790
Group
True bugs and cicadas
Family
Cicadidae
Classification
Insecta > Hemiptera > Cicadidae
Lives on
North America, South America
Also known as
Chichara grande, Coyoyo, Coyuyo

Where the facts come from

  1. Giant cicada (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 Tomás Carranza Perales Depicted place: Ledesma, Jujuy, Argentina ( 23°45′29″S 64°51′03″W  /  23.7579577747°S 64.8507493127°W  / -23.7579577747; -64.850749312. CC BY 4.0, 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.

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