Eastern horse cicada
This large, glossy black cicada is covered in fine golden hairs when newly emerged, and its heavy, deep buzzing call carries far further than smaller cicadas.
| Where | Forests and wooded parks in East Asia |
|---|---|
| Size | 36 to 44 mm body length |
| When | May to September |
This is a large cicada with a glossy blackish brown body, reddish brown markings across the front of the pronotum, and clear wings with pale veins; newly emerged adults are covered in fine golden hairs that wear off with age.
Adults live in forests and wooded parks across China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and Taiwan, where males produce a heavy, low pitched call from the canopy through summer, and nymphs develop underground for several years before emerging.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Black, Brown, Metallic
Active
Day
To people
Makes no attempt to bite or sting; calm to observe or hold briefly if found resting on a tree trunk.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Shows two pale bands across the middle of the abdomen that this species lacks, and gives a sharper, higher pitched call.
Questions
Is the Eastern horse cicada dangerous to people?
Makes no attempt to bite or sting; calm to observe or hold briefly if found resting on a tree trunk.
When can you see the Eastern horse cicada?
The Eastern horse cicada can be seen from May to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Natural History Museum, CC0, GBIF Licence
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True bugs›Cicadas›Cryptotympana
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.
