Periodical Cicada
From Bugwoodwiki
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USDA Forest Service. 1979. A guide to common insects and diseases of forest trees in the northeastern United States. Northeast. Area State Priv. For., For. Insect and Disease Management., Broomall, PA. p. 123, illus.
Oaks, hickory, honey locust, dogwood, apple, and peach seem to be the most susceptible to cicada attack, but several other tree species, such as elm, ash, sweetgum, sycamore, yellow-poplar, walnut, and redbud, may be affected. The adult female causes the damage by using her sawlike ovipositor to lay eggs in the bark of branches. The most serious damage, which appears in the form of flagging, wilting, and broken branches, is found on young, transplanted trees in nurseries and orchards.
Females lay eggs in pockets in the bark during April and May. When the eggs hatch, the nymphs fall and enter the ground, feeding on the roots of many plants. When nymphs are full grown, they emerge from the ground, climb on some object, and molt to become adults. The adults are about 1½ inches long. The female is completely black on top, while the male has four to five abdominal segments that are orange-brown on top. Sometimes the nymphal cast skin can be used to determine the causal agent of branch injury. Each generation requires 13 to 17 years.
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 Photo by John H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org |
