Robust cicada
This cicada's nymphs spend a median of about three years living underground before adults emerge for just one summer of calling, mating and dying.
| Where | Forests and urban green spaces |
|---|---|
| Size | 33 to 36 mm body length |
| When | July to September |
The Robust cicada has an egg-shaped body 33 to 36 mm long, patterned in blue-green on a black background, though the extent of blue-green varies and some individuals look almost entirely black; the abdomen base is dusted whitish and the legs are pale blue-green.
It calls loudly through the day from forest trees and urban green spaces, and after roughly three years living underground as a nymph, adults emerge, mate and die within a single summer.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Green, Blue, Black
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; it feeds only on plant sap and cannot bite or sting.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Both are common cicadas of parks and gardens, but the Oily cicada has entirely brown, opaque wings, while the Robust cicada's wings are clear and its body shows patches of blue-green rather than solid brown.
Questions
Is the Robust cicada dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; it feeds only on plant sap and cannot bite or sting.
When can you see the Robust cicada?
The Robust cicada can be seen from July to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.