Decula Periodical Cicadas

Magicicada septendecula · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Cicadidae

Also called: Decula 17-year Cicada, Decula Periodical Cicada, Little 17-year Cicada, Little 17-year Periodical Cicada

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Decula Periodical Cicadas
Photo: Zachary Dankowicz, CC BY

Decula periodical cicadas are native to the United States. Their life from egg to natural adult death usually lasts about seventeen years, but can vary from thirteen to twenty-one years.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

They are endemic to the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Kansas.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Decula Periodical Cicadas photo 2
Photo: Zachary Dankowicz, CC BY
Decula Periodical Cicadas photo 3
Photo: Zachary Dankowicz, CC BY
Decula Periodical Cicadas photo 4
Photo: Zachary Dankowicz, CC BY
Decula Periodical Cicadas photo 5
Photo: jfox16, CC BY

Questions people ask

Where are Decula periodical cicadas found?

They are endemic to the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Cicadidae)

Northern Dog-day CicadaNorthern Dog-day CicadaNeotibicen canicularisSwamp CicadaSwamp CicadaNeotibicen tibicenPharaoh CicadaPharaoh CicadaMagicicada septendecimAsh CicadaAsh CicadaCicada orniScissor GrinderScissor GrinderNeotibicen pruinosusSuperb Dog-day CicadaSuperb Dog-day CicadaNeotibicen superbus

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magicicada_septendecula

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.