The nutritional value is that one cicada pupa is worth two eggs.

The life of a cicada goes through three different stages: egg, larvae and adult.

Cicada larvae live in the soil, sucking the sap from plant roots, weakening the tree vigor, causing branches to die, and affecting tree growth. Grasshopper larvae live their entire life in the soil. When it is about to emerge, it emerges from the soil at dusk and night, climbs up a tree, then grasps the bark of the tree, and sheds its skin to emerge. At the end of June, the larvae begin to emerge into adults, with a maximum lifespan of about 60 to 70 days.

In late July, the female adult begins to lay eggs, and the peak egg-laying period is in early and mid-August. The eggs are mostly laid on the branches with a thickness of 4 to 5 mm. When the female adult lays eggs, she first pierces the bark of the tree with her ovipositor, inserts the ovipositor into the branch tissue, forming a claw-shaped egg hole, and then lays her eggs in the xylem. There are 6 to 8 eggs in each spawning hole. There are as many as 90 cicada eggs on one branch.

Life habits

Cicada larvae live in the soil and have a pair of strong digging front legs. Use piercing mouthparts to suck. The sap from plant roots weakens the vigor of the tree, causes branches to die, and affects the growth of the tree. They usually stay in the soil for several years or even more than ten years, such as 3 years, 5 years, and 17 years. These numbers have one thing in common, they are all prime numbers.

This is because prime numbers have very few factors, which prevents them from drilling out together with other cicadas to compete for territory and food. When it is about to emerge, it emerges from the soil at dusk and night, climbs up a tree, then grasps the bark of the tree, and sheds its skin to emerge.

When a black crack appears on the back of the cicada pupa, the process of molting begins. The head comes out first, and then the green body and wrinkled wings are exposed. They stay for a while to harden the wings. As the color darkens, it begins to take off. The whole process takes about an hour. At the end of June, the larvae begin to emerge into adults. The newly emerged cicadas are green and have a maximum lifespan of about 60 to 70 days.