{"id":135977,"date":"2024-10-25T02:56:55","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T07:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=135977"},"modified":"2025-07-07T11:40:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T16:40:03","slug":"autumn-cicada-shell-why-is-it-still-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/25\/autumn-cicada-shell-why-is-it-still-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Autumn Cicada Shell &#8211; Why Is It Still Here?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Four days ago, I spotted a cicada shell hanging on to a pine tree still clinging to the bark like it had all the time in the world and nowhere to go. You know, the ghostly shell that cicadas leave behind after they finally decide it\u2019s time to go airborne and serenade the neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve seen these cicada shells hanging around all summer, but now, the trees that were once covered with them are mostly bare. So, naturally, I started wondering: what happens to these shells? Do they just fall off on their own, or does something come along and eat them?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-135973 size-full\" title=\"Autumn Cicada shell on a pine tree\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261.jpg\" alt=\"Autumn Cicada shell on a pine tree, Sebastian County, Arkansas\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Autumn Cicada shell on a pine tree \u2013 Canon R7, f8, handheld, 1\/3200, ISO 800, -1.3 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>After doing a bit of digging (not literally), it turns out it\u2019s a mix of both. Weather, wind, and good old gravity eventually knock them down. And if that doesn\u2019t get them, there are birds or even small critters who don\u2019t mind giving them a nibble. Who knew a cicada shell could end up as a snack?<\/p>\n<p>That cicada shell I found, though, it\u2019s like a little snapshot of summer left behind. You can almost imagine the cicada\u2019s escape, wriggling free and heading off to sing those loud, familiar tunes. The shell just sits there, a perfectly creepy reminder of the whole process.<\/p>\n<p>I keep hoping that next summer, I\u2019ll finally get to see one of these guys making their grand exit. It\u2019d be amazing to photograph, or maybe even film, a cicada emerging from its shell. For now, I\u2019ll just have to be content with these leftover shells from the season gone by.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cicada\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Cicadas<\/span><\/a> are absolutely fascinating insects, and I was delighted by them this year.<\/p>\n<p>Life<em> is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/insects-and-spiders\/\">here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my insect and spider photos plus facts and information about them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four days ago, I spotted a cicada shell hanging on to a pine tree still clinging to the bark like it had all the time in the world and nowhere to go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":135973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13950,14048,13951],"tags":[15897,970,10484,14051,15635,14049,14050,4620,13931,10560,1263,15824,4427,12949,13966],"class_list":["post-135977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-cicadas","category-sebastian-county","tag-attached","tag-autumn","tag-bark","tag-cicada","tag-cicadoidea","tag-exoskeleton","tag-exuvia","tag-fall","tag-garden","tag-pine-tree","tag-shell","tag-suburban","tag-tree","tag-trunk","tag-yard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cicada-shell-pine-tree-mia-mcpherson-0261.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-znb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":132600,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/17\/cicada-shell-and-the-photographer-who-took-the-image\/","url_meta":{"origin":135977,"position":0},"title":"Cicada Shell And The Photographer Who Took The Image","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This cicada shell on a pine tree was photographed by little old me in Arkansas yesterday. The photo of me taking this image is by my dear friend, Steve Creek.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cicada shell on a pine tree, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cicada-exuvia-shell-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-2449.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cicada-exuvia-shell-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-2449.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cicada-exuvia-shell-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-2449.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cicada-exuvia-shell-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-2449.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":132670,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/18\/fall-southeastern-dusk-singing-cicada-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":135977,"position":1},"title":"Fall Southeastern Dusk-singing Cicada Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"After sharing a photo of me photographing a cicada shell on a tree yesterday, I thought I'd share photos of a Fall Southeastern Dusk-singing Cicada today.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fall Southeastern Dusk-singing Cicada from above, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fall-Southeastern-Dusk-singing-Cicada-mia-mcpherson-2864.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fall-Southeastern-Dusk-singing-Cicada-mia-mcpherson-2864.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fall-Southeastern-Dusk-singing-Cicada-mia-mcpherson-2864.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fall-Southeastern-Dusk-singing-Cicada-mia-mcpherson-2864.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114028,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/29\/cicada-exuvia-just-a-shell-of-its-former-self\/","url_meta":{"origin":135977,"position":2},"title":"Cicada Exuvia: Just a Shell Of Its Former Self","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago I found a Cicada exuvia or exoskeleton attached to a driftwood suet feeder. The cicada had emerged sometime during the night to begin its life anew.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cicada exuvia or exoskeleton in Arkansas, Sebastian County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cicada-shell-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5805.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cicada-shell-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5805.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cicada-shell-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5805.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/cicada-shell-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5805.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":133272,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/28\/cicada-clinging-to-grass-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":135977,"position":3},"title":"Cicada Clinging To Grass At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I took this cicada photo during my last visit to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, where my friend Steve Creek pointed the cicada out to me.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cicadas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cicadas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/cicadas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cicada clinging to grass, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cicada-clinging-grass-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4814.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cicada-clinging-grass-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4814.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cicada-clinging-grass-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4814.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/cicada-clinging-grass-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4814.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":134431,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/09\/12\/carolina-mantis-photos-and-the-story-behind-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":135977,"position":4},"title":"Carolina Mantis Photos And The Story Behind Them","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I spotted and photographed my first Carolina Mantis here in Arkansas. If not for my keen eyesight, I would never have seen the mantis at all.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carolina Mantis close up, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/carolina-mantis-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-8760.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/carolina-mantis-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-8760.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/carolina-mantis-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-8760.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/carolina-mantis-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-8760.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":135998,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/27\/young-fox-squirrel-photo-and-video\/","url_meta":{"origin":135977,"position":5},"title":"Young Fox Squirrel Photo And Video","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was outside yesterday, I watched and photographed a young Fox Squirrel slowly climb down from an oak tree and run across a thick layer of pine straw.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Arkansas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Fox Squirrel running to a birdbath, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/fox-squirrel-young-running-mia-mcpherson-2870.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/fox-squirrel-young-running-mia-mcpherson-2870.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/fox-squirrel-young-running-mia-mcpherson-2870.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/fox-squirrel-young-running-mia-mcpherson-2870.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}