Prolonged Development in Cicadas

Abstract

Compared to other insect groups, the cicadas require an extremely long time to complete nymphal development. Although there are over 1500 species of cicadas (Myers 1929), development times are known for only 16 of these species and range from 2 years to 17 years. The so-called “annual cicadas” are misnamed since none of the species, for which we know the development requirement, can mature in a single year, under natural conditions.