Large Black Cicada
Cryptotympana atrata
A summer singer that spends years hidden underground
The large black cicada is China’s most common large singing cicada in summer, with glossy black coloring. The tymbal on the male’s abdomen produces a sustained, loud call. Its nymph lives underground for years feeding on root sap, before emerging and molting into an adult that survives above ground only a few weeks.
Key figures
- Length
- About 44–48 mm, with a wingspan of up to about 120 mm
- Life cycle
- Nymphs live underground for about 3–5 years; adults survive only a few weeks after emerging
- Habitat
- Nymphs live in soil around tree roots; adults live on tree trunks and among branches and leaves
- Diet
- Both nymphs and adults feed on tree xylem sap through piercing-sucking mouthparts (a rostrum)
- Call
- The male’s abdominal sound organ (tymbal) produces a loud call, measured at over 90 decibels at close range
- Emergence
- After emerging from the ground, the nymph climbs a tree trunk to complete its final molt, transforming into a winged adult
Life cycle
Egg → Nymph (underground, 3–5 years) → Adult
Ecological role
Large black cicada nymphs live underground for years feeding on root sap, which can affect tree growth to some degree. Adult egg-laying can cause young twigs to wither, and both the nymphs and their shed skins serve as resources for many birds and soil organisms.
Did you know
Mention cicadas and many think of North America’s mass-emerging “periodical cicadas.” This species is not periodical — its nymphs’ years underground aren’t synchronized, so it sings almost every summer.
Range
Most of China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan
Status
Common; occasionally regarded as a minor forestry pest because egg-laying can damage twigs
Anatomy
- Tymbal — Ridged membranes on both sides of the abdomen; males vibrate them rapidly to produce a loud call
- Wings — Transparent and membranous with clear veins; folded roof-like over the back when at rest
- Compound eyes — Large compound eyes bulge from either side of the head, with three simple eyes (ocelli) between them working together to sense changes in light
- Rostrum — Slender and needle-like, it pierces into xylem vessels to draw up sap for food
- Head — Broad enough to house the well-developed compound eyes and the muscle mass at the base of the mouthparts
- Abdomen — Nearly hollow inside like a resonance chamber, amplifying the sound produced by the tymbal
Open the interactive 3D specimen