Question 1

True or false: Cicadas can fly but are clumsy and often crash into objects or people.

Accepted Answer

True. Their large wings make them poor fliers; they frequently bump into trees, cars, and even pedestrians.

Question 2

True or false: Cicadas do not bite or sting humans, as they lack chewing mouthparts and stingers.

Accepted Answer

True. Cicadas have piercing-sucking mouthparts for feeding on plant sap and no stingers. They are harmless to people.

Question 3

True or false: Cicadas are completely harmless to humans—they don't bite, sting, or carry diseases.

Accepted Answer

True. Cicadas have no mouthparts for biting or stinging; they feed on plant sap and pose zero threat to people.

Question 4

True or false: Cicadas live only for a few hours after emerging from their nymphal shells.

Accepted Answer

False. Adult cicadas typically live for 4 to 6 weeks above ground. They emerge, mate, lay eggs, and then die over several weeks.

Question 5

True or false: Male cicadas produce their loud mating calls by rubbing their hind legs together.

Accepted Answer

False. Cicadas produce sound using specialized membranes called tymbals on their abdomen, not by rubbing legs.

Question 6

True or false: All cicada species emerge from the ground only once every 13 or 17 years.

Accepted Answer

False. Only periodical cicadas follow prime-year cycles; annual cicadas emerge every year, though their broods overlap.

Question 7

True or false: Some cicada species, like the annual dog-day cicadas, emerge every summer.

Accepted Answer

True. Dog-day cicadas (genus Tibicen) are annual cicadas that emerge in late summer each year, unlike the periodical species.

Question 8

True or false: Cicadas eat leaves and can defoliate entire trees.

Accepted Answer

False. Cicadas feed on xylem sap using piercing mouthparts, not leaves. They rarely cause significant defoliation; damage mainly comes from egg-laying slits.

Question 9

True or false: Cicadas are a type of locust that can form destructive swarms.

Accepted Answer

False. Cicadas are not locusts. Locusts are grasshoppers (order Orthoptera); cicadas belong to the order Hemiptera and do not form migratory swarms.

Question 10

True or false: Cicadas have no natural predators because of their loud noise.

Accepted Answer

False. Cicadas have many predators, including birds, spiders, wasps, and mammals. Their loud calls may actually attract predators.

Question 11

True or false: Periodical cicadas (genus Magicicada) spend most of their lives underground as nymphs, emerging after 13 or 17 years.

Accepted Answer

True. Periodical cicadas of the genus Magicicada are known for their synchronized 13- or 17-year life cycles, spending the vast majority of that time underground as nymphs before emerging en masse.

Question 12

True or false: Cicadas are a type of locust, belonging to the grasshopper family.

Accepted Answer

False. Cicadas are not locusts; they belong to the order Hemiptera (true bugs), while locusts are grasshoppers in Orthoptera.

Question 13

True or false: Male cicadas produce their distinctive sound by vibrating membranes called tymbals on their abdomen.

Accepted Answer

True. Only male cicadas have tymbals—ribbed membranes on the abdomen that buckle rapidly to create loud calls. Females lack this structure and produce no such sound.

Question 14

True or false: Some cicada species secrete a waxy substance that can be used to make waterproof varnish.

Accepted Answer

False. Cicadas do not produce a waxy substance used for varnish. Waterproof varnishes like shellac come from lac insects, not cicadas. Some cicada wings have water-repellent nanostructures, but this is not a secreted wax.

Question 15

True or false: Cicadas have the longest insect life cycle of any known species.

Accepted Answer

False. Some periodical cicadas live 17 years underground, but certain queen termites can live over 50 years.

Question 16

True or false: Cicada nymphs have been found alive after being buried under volcanic ash for decades.

Accepted Answer

False. There is no evidence that cicada nymphs have been found alive after being buried under volcanic ash for decades. Periodical cicadas survived the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption by being underground, emerging on schedule in 1981, not discovered after decades under ash.

Cicada Trivia Questions