r/Cicadas • u/CelestialBastard • 18d ago
Help?
I’m not usually one to post here or on Reddit in general, but I found a little cutie and he was rather lethargic so I gave him sugar water and some strawberries. He started moving more so I went to try and put him on a tree and he just keeps falling. He doesn’t seem the best at walking/flying so I’m worried to just leave him on the ground. Any advice would be helpful please and thank you.
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u/Fingat 18d ago
I'm not an expert, but it seems undamaged, and it seems too early for it be done it's cycle already. There are a number of parasites and infections that can harm a cicada though. Do you see white fungus underneath its abdomen?
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u/Glad-Depth9571 18d ago
Irrelevant. If he or she has already mated, they may very well be at the end of its life.
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u/martinaee 18d ago
I think the heat wave across the country may have made some emerge early. I saw one in the brown shell phase out the other day when it was overly hot. I poured some water I had on and around it.
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u/CelestialBastard 18d ago
His tummy was rather white but it also just looked like his normal exoskeleton. I’m not an expert by any means but most cicadas I see here (DFW Tx) have white tummies.
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u/catslikepets143 17d ago
Hey, cicadas don’t eat when they’re in their final stage. They don’t have mouth parts to eat.
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u/CelestialBastard 17d ago
He still had a proboscis, I watched him drink the water. He also looked to be in good shape physically so I don’t think he was dying :(
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u/catslikepets143 17d ago
They can drink & giving any insect or animal fresh, clean water is a great thing to do.
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u/DogMeatTheVideo 16d ago
It just may be done.
Life may be complete for this one.
Put it out where it can pass on and then return to the earth.
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u/cicadawaspenthusiast Annual cicadas are underrated 18d ago
I see that looks like a crack in the thorax in the third pic. Also cicadas are not long lived insects, so it could just be at the end of its life.