Shed Skins Of Brood X Periodical Cicadas Royalty-Free Stock Photo

Shed skins attached to leaves overhead, left there by periodical cicadas, Magicicada species, in the geographically and numerically huge group known as Brood X. The insects emerged in the summer of 2021 in the Eastern United States to reproduce near the end of their 17 year life cycle, most of which is spent underground. They emerge from the ground as nymphs, climb and attach, shed and discard skin as pictured here, and emerge then as full adults ready to mate.