On August 2 morning, I spotted 5 items—a live but nearly immobile cicada and four exuviae (exoskeletons). The cicada and an exuviae (Specimens A and B) were on one porch column. Another exuviae (Specimen C) was on the second column, and two (Specimens D and E) were on the third column. I don't believe the cicada had emerged from any of these exuviae, but maybe alighted in the area from elsewhere. (Nearly all of my cicada sightings have been empty-shell only.)
From past observations, cicadas abandoned their shells shortly after they molted and air-dried off. I observed one emerging cicada and periodically recorded and pic'd it during a few hours. One last time that I went outside, the bug departed, leaving its shell stuck to the step. "Molting Cicada Visitor at My Doorstep" (video, article) details that event.
Note the similarity of the 2017 bug's backside mask look to the more recent Specimen A.
This year is apparently a banner year for cicadas, often referred to as "brood X" cicadas, the X being Roman numeral for ten (10). Much of the eastern part of US got their cicadas in May. My latecomers and others in the area seemed to arrive in July and early part of August. The following resources provide good background for this year's bounty:
- "These dogs, birds, and squirrels are stuffing their faces with Brood X cicadas" (May 21, 2021)
- "The cicadas have arrived in some states: Can they bite or sting? Are they dangerous to pets? What you need to know." (May 20, 2021)
- "What You Need to Know about Brood X Cicadas in 2021" (March 22, 2021)
I wondered how long an emerging cicada might hang around before taking off. This nature.com article states, "Cicadas are at their most vulnerable right after shedding their shells. It takes a newly emerged cicada around 30 minutes to harden its new carapace and pump its wings full of blood."
Speaking of emerging cicada, "Periodical Cicada transformation timelapse" shows an excellent timelapse video of an cicada emerging. The digital clock display of more than 4 hrs running time compresses into a 2-minute video.
