Annual Cicada

From Wiki: The genus Neotibicen comprises large-bodied Cicadidae appearing in late summer or autumn in North America.[1] Many colloquial names exist for Neotibicen, including locust, and dog-day cicada. Up until recently, these species were all in the genus Tibicen, which has now been redefined so as to include only a few European species, while species from the Western US and Mexico are now placed in a separate genus, Hadoa.[2]

Neotibicen species are the most common cicada in the Eastern United States. Unlike periodical cicadas, whose swarms occur at 13- or 17-year intervals, Neotibicen species can be seen every year, hence their nickname "annual cicadas". The life-cycle of an individual, however, is more than a year.[citation needed] Nymphs spend two or three years feeding on tree roots before they emerge. Their annual reappearance is due to overlapping generations.

Neotibicen cicadas are 1–2 inches (25–51 mm) long, with characteristic green, brown, and black markings on the top of the thorax, and tented, membranous wings extending past the abdomen. The fore pair are about twice the length of the hind pair. Adults feed using their beak to tap into the xylem of plants; nymphs feed from the xylem of roots.