Periodical-emergence
Guides
Cicadoidea
cicadas
Cicadoidea is a superfamily of insects in the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha. It comprises two families: Tettigarctidae, containing two species restricted to Australia, and Cicadidae, with more than 1,300 described species worldwide. Cicadas are characterized by their large size, bulging compound eyes, short antennae, and distinctive acoustic signals produced by males. The superfamily includes both annual and periodical species, with the latter exhibiting remarkable synchronized emergences after 13 or 17 years of subterranean development.