After 17 years undeground, a cicada nymph emerged to undergo molting process and transition to an adult cicada to breed. It climbed a fern leaf and shed its exoskeleton. The exoskeleton called "exuviae". #BroodIX
The insects spend the majority of their lives underground, in a nymph state. The emergence time is different for different species but the nymphs of this species emerge from the ground in the spring of the 17th year and transition to mature cicadas, ready to breed.
The 17-year life cycle of this periodical cicada species makes it one of the longest-lived insects. #BroodIX