<\/p>\n orange-winged cicada<\/p>\n
<\/a> (Platypleura fulvigera<\/i>) behind the Tampines Changkat swarms.<\/p>\n
The insects have a range of colours from the jade green cicada to the black and scarlet cicada. <\/p>\n
Cicadas spend most of their life underground. They do not bite or sting.<\/p>\n
Adult female cicadas lay their eggs in tree branches using their needle-like ovipositors. These eggs can take about three to six weeks to hatch, depending on the species.<\/p>\n
The nymphs then fall to the ground and spend their life under the soil, feeding on sap from tree roots. As they burrow into the ground, they aerate the soil, helping trees grow better. <\/p>\n
When the nymphs are ready to turn into adults, they emerge from the ground. Some species do so annually, while others can take a longer time to develop underground. <\/p>\n
They climb onto the tree, shed their shells, otherwise known as exuvia, and emerge as adults with wings. These adults often wind up as food for birds like bee-eaters and drongos.<\/p>\n
In Singapore, one cicada species can live up to six years, while others live only for about a year, according to a National Parks Board (NParks) representative at the March 1 town hall where the task force was announced.<\/p>\n
Unlike the cicadas found in Singapore, those involved in the mass emergences of North America are periodical cicadas. These cicadas emerge simultaneously in broods after 13 or 17 years, a phenomenon that is linked to the completion of plant cycles. <\/p>\n