That’s a brand new, perfect cicada over ten years in the making! The 13- or 17-year lifespan of periodical cicadas is one of the longest of any insect, but only a tiny fraction of that time is spent above ground. The rest of a periodical cicada’s life is spent underground as a nymph feeding on liquid sucked from plant roots. Over their many years beneath the soil, the nymphs shed their exoskeletons, a process known as molting, five times. This one just emerged from the earth and got its wings! N