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Cicadas shedding skin

Uploaded by: rickryansworld2
Video Description:
A rare glimpse of a cicadas shedding it's underground skin after coming out of the ground.
Cicadas are insects. They are classified in the order Hemiptera, which includes all insects with piercing and sucking mouth-parts.
Adult cicadas have stout bodies with two pairs of wings. The wing spans of the different species range from about 2.5 cm - 15 cm. When not in use, the wings fold back along the sides of the body. The longer fore wing covers the short hind wing, but the wings of each side do not overlap. The fore wing is usually glassy and transparent although in a few species it is dull and opaque. The wings are strengthened by a number of thin, firm veins.
Adult cicadas have three pairs of legs all about the same length. The femur (or thigh joint) of the fore leg is thicker than that of the other legs
Cicadas have large compound eyes situated one on each side of the head They also have three very small glistening simple eyes (ocelli) on the top of the head. The cicada's antennae (feelers) are quite small and bristle-like.
The mouth parts of the cicada are enclosed in a long, thin, beak-like sheath. The sheath (labium) passes backwards from the lower surface of the head between the legs when the insect is not feeding. It contains four fine, needle-like stylets used in feeding.
Cicadas are notorious singers. The song is a mating call produced by the males only. Each species has its own distinctive call and only attracts females of its own kind even though rather similar species may co-exist.
Cicadas spend most of their life underground. It has been suggested that some of the large, common Australian species of cicada may live underground as nymphs for around 6-7 years. This would explain why adult cicadas are much more abundant during some seasons that others, with peaks occurring every few years. The periodical cicadas of North America spend 13 or 17 years underground.
In contrast to that of the nymph, the life of adult cicadas is very short, lasting only a few weeks. After mating, the adult female cicada lays its eggs. It does this by piercing plant stems with its ovipositor (egg-laying spike at the tip of the abdomen) and inserting the eggs into the slits it has made. The eggs hatch into small wingless cicadas which are known as nymphs. They fall to the ground and burrow below the surface. Here they live on the sap from plant roots for a period which may last several years. They shed their skin at intervals as they grow.
When the nymph reaches full size it digs its way to the surface with its front legs, which are specially adapted for digging. It generally surfaces about nightfall in late spring or early summer. The nymph then climbs on to a tree trunk or other object and sheds its skin for the last time. The fully-winged adult cicada which emerges leaves its old empty nymphal skin behind.

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