The Cicada Many Things to Many People In this century of rapid scientific discovery, natural phenomena still exist with the power to inspire wonder and mystery. The cicada, an insect known since ancient times, is one of these phenomena. Because scientific knowledge about the cicada has many gaps, these mysterious insects can still spark our imaginations or confuse us. The cicada represents many things to many people today: it is a curiosity that should be approached scientifically; it is a source of superstition and terror; it's also little more than an annoying seasonal inconvenience. The cicada is a sturdy black insect about an inch long. Various species of this insect can be found throughout North America. When the cicada is at rest, its large, transparent, veined wings are folded over the top of its body and extend about a quarter of an inch beyond it. The veins of the cicada's wings are orange-red, as are the eyes and legs. The front legs are sharp and crab-like, allowing the animal to cling tightly to the bark of trees. The species of American cicada that scientists have written about the most and the general public has wondered about the most is known as the periodical cicada. Its scientific name is Magicicada septendecim. This species of cicada appears on the surface only once every seventeen years. What the cicada does underground for most of its seventeen-year life was a mystery until quite recently. At the beginning of this century, a man named CL Marlett, who worked for the United States Department of Agriculture, decided to find out. He began burying cicada eggs in his yard and digging them up periodically to observe them. He soon discovered that the cicada begins life as a tiny nymph about six-hundredths of an inch long. A nymph is an immature insect, before it has fully developed wings or reproductive organs. During sixteen years and ten and a half months underground, cicada nymphs nestle against tree roots from which they gently suck juices. Nourished by this root sap, they begin to grow. They shed their skin four times before reaching adult size. Once matured, the cicada does not necessarily leave its underground nursery. All cicadas of the same generation in a region wait until the seventeenth spring before crawling out of the ground in a group.