Priest cicada
Its brown, cloud-patterned wings with black veins camouflage it against bark, and it is often the last common cicada still calling as autumn arrives.
| Where | Forests and towns across East Asia |
|---|---|
| Size | 22 to 31 mm body length |
| When | April to October |
The body is brown overall, with black markings along the wing veins and light brown cloudy patches across the otherwise transparent wings. The related Kuroiwa's cicada is restricted to the Ryukyu Islands and is close in size but slightly narrower winged.
Adults appear from midsummer into autumn on tree trunks in both forests and city parks, where nymphs have spent one or more years underground feeding on root sap before emerging.
Traits
Habitat
Towns
Colour
Brown, Black
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; adults are often handled by children during summer without incident.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Restricted to the Ryukyu Islands, while the Priest cicada ranges much more widely across Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan.
Questions
Is the Priest cicada dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; adults are often handled by children during summer without incident.
When can you see the Priest cicada?
The Priest cicada can be seen from April to October, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by りなべる, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.