Buzzing Fun Cicada Activities for Kids

Fun cicada activities for kids for the emerging broods, fun things to do in the summer, nature learning ideas, or even for fun summer camp ideas! 

Cicada Mania! Fun Ideas For Cicada Activities For Kids

Fun bug themed ideas for summer! Add learning about cicadas to your STEM crafts, fun summer crafts, or nature camp ideas!

12 Cicada Themed Activities For Kids To Do This Summer

1. Go On A Cicada Hunt: Go on a cicada hunt in the backyard or local park and observe their behaviors.
2. Make A Cicada Craft: Create cicada models using clay. 
3. Get Artsy With Cicada Coloring Pages: Download and color cicada-themed coloring pages. (See our free printables below!)
4. Make A Cicada Life Cycle Project: Make a diorama or poster illustrating the cicada life cycle.
5. Create Your Own Cicada Song: Listen to and mimic cicada sounds using instruments or voices.
6. Make A Cicada Fact Book: Create a booklet filled with interesting facts about cicadas. (see the facts below!)
7. Do A Cicada Nature Walk: Take a nature walk to find and identify cicada exoskeletons.
8. Have Cicada Storytime: Read books and stories about cicadas and their role in nature. (See our favorite cicada books below!)
9. Make Cicada Masks: Design your own cicada masks using paper plates.
10. Make A Cicada Observation Jar: Collect cicadas shells in a jar for an observation. Draw your own cicada shells in your nature journal.
11. Create Cicada Chalk Art: Draw large cicada shapes on the sidewalk with colorful chalk.
12. Keep A Cicada Journal: Keep a nature journal documenting cicada sightings, what you’ve learned about cicadas, cicada drawings and activities throughout the summer.

Don’t miss tons of cicada fun facts and your free cicada worksheet printable at the bottom of the post!

 

 

Fun Facts About Cicadas For  Kids:

• Those loud noises you hear are made mostly from the male cicadas.
• Each periodical cicada species has a distinct sound.
• They are some of the loudest insects and female cicadas can hear the males up to 1 mile away!
• Cicadas are often mistakenly called locusts.
• Scientists don’t really understand why cicadas stay underground so long, some for up to 17 years!
• Cicadas emerge when the ground has warmed to around 65 °F.
• Females lay hundreds of eggs over 50 different locations.
• A group of cicadas that emerge at the same time is called a Brood.
• There are some Broods that have gone extinct!
• One single Brood can have billions of cicadas in it!
• Indigenous North Americans ate cicadas by roasting them and eating them like peanuts.

 

Fun Facts: Learning About Cicadas For Kids

Here’s some cicada information that you can add to your learning for Brood learning, insect studies, and fun bug lessons!

What are cicadas?

Cicadas are insects that spend the majority of their lives underground. They emerge from the ground either annually or periodically. Cicadas are most known for their loud buzzing and whirring noises during the summer.

 

Why do cicadas cry?

Cicadas don’t actually cry, they sing “songs.” That cicada sound — the buzzing, whirring, and clicking noises you hear coming from cicadas — are made by body parts and wings, mostly from male cicadas. They make noises for a variety of reasons, including to attract female cicadas!

 

Can cicadas bite?

Cicadas do not intend to bite humans. They actually look for plants to suck juice from with a long mouth tube that acts as a straw. If they land on a human that they’ve mistaken for a tree or plant. So if you’re wondering do cicadas bite or sting humans, they may mistakenly use that tube with a sucking motion that may feel like a bite or a sting to a human.

 

Do cicadas eat?

So, what do cicadas eat? Cicadas are herbivores and that means they eat plants. Cicadas don’t eat the way we think by chewing. They actually suck liquid from plants, mainly by sucking nutrients from the roots.

 

What is the life cycle of a cicada?

The cicada lifecycle is made up of eggs, nymphs, and adults. During emergence, the nymphs molt from their skin into a fully formed adult cicada who is ready to mate and start the cycle all over again.

 

How long does a cicada live?

The cicada lifespan varies based on species of cicada. Cicadas can live anywhere from a couple of years up to 17 years, like those in the Brood X.

 

What are cicadas habitat?

Cicadas like to live in deciduous trees and plants. The adults will live in tree and shrub branches and leaves.

 

Where do cicadas live?

Where do you find cicadas? Periodic cicadas (like Brood X and other broods), or those that emerge from the ground every few years, are only found in North America. However, cicadas are found all over the world, including in Australia and Europe.

 

Can cicadas kill you?

Cicadas are not harmful to humans, even when they emerge in swarms. So, no. they won’t kill you. Cicadas can be harmful to plants when they are trying laying eggs on them, especially young plants and trees.

About Cicada Broods

Periodical groups of cicadas that come out from below the ground during regular cycles are called broods. There are different broods that appear at 13 years and 17 years. Periodical broods are named with Roman Numerals (like Brood X, where X means 10). Periodical cicadas are only found in North America.

 

DID YOU KNOW? Periodical cicadas are only found inNorth America.

 

What is Brood X?

Brood X is a group of cicadas, also called The Great Eastern Brood. They are part of the 17 year cicadas that come out of the ground every 17 years. When they come out, there will be billions of cicadas for this cycle! They last came out in 2021.

 

2024 Cicada Brood Cycle

There are two broods emerging for 2024: BROOD XIX and BROOD XIII.

Brood XIX (#19), also called “The Great Southern Brood,” is a 13-year brood, which are the largest periodical broods and emerge every 13 years.They’re expected to emerge in mid-May to late June 2024. 

 

 

 

 

 

MORE NATURE LEARNING FUN: Outdoor Class Room Ideas + Nature Learning Space Ideas for Kids

 

WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE FACTS ABOUT CICADAS AND FUN CICADA ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS!

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