The life cycle of the 17-year cicada is among the most remarkable of any insect. A cicada begins its life as an egg, deposited deep within the bark of a tree. It hatches and then crawls (or falls) to the ground where it burrows downward and remains for the next 17 years, feeding on roots and plant matter.
Then, in a mass emergence that occurs in early summer, the cicada nymphs dig their way out of the ground and climb up into the trees. they attach themselves to the tree and undergo their final molt into adult form, complete with wings. The adults the busy themselves with courtship and mating. Adults only live for a short period so females soon lays their eggs within the bark of a tree and the 17-year cicada's life cycle starts all over again.
This series of photographs illustrates the final molt of cicada nymphs into adults.