⚠️This fact has been debunked
Multiple factual errors: (1) Cicadas are not flies - they're true bugs in order Hemiptera; (2) 17-year periodical cicadas are found only in eastern North America, not Africa; (3) Cicadas don't 'sleep' underground - they actively feed on tree root sap; (4) Adult lifespan is 3-6 weeks, not exactly 2 weeks. While African cicada species exist, they don't have the 17-year lifecycle.
The cicada, a fly found in Africa, spends 17 years of its life sleeping; and only two weeks is awake during which mates and then dies.
Do Cicadas Really Sleep for 17 Years? The Truth Revealed
You've probably heard the claim: cicadas are flies that sleep for 17 years in Africa, wake up for two weeks to mate, then die. It's the kind of dramatic life story that sounds too bizarre to be fake. Except it is fake - or at least, it's wrong on almost every count.
Let's set the record straight about one of nature's most misunderstood insects.
First Problem: Cicadas Aren't Flies
Cicadas belong to the order Hemiptera, which makes them true bugs - relatives of aphids and stink bugs. Flies are in a completely different order (Diptera) and have just two wings. Cicadas have four wings and a totally different body structure. Calling a cicada a fly is like calling a spider an ant.
Second Problem: They're Not in Africa
The famous 17-year periodical cicadas live exclusively in eastern North America. While Africa does have its own cicada species - including the shrill thorntree cicada, the loudest insect on Earth at over 106 decibels - none of them follow the 17-year emergence pattern. That's a uniquely American phenomenon.
Seven species of periodical cicadas exist, and they're divided into 13-year and 17-year varieties. They emerge in massive synchronized swarms called "broods," with billions of insects surfacing at once.
Third Problem: They're Not Sleeping
Here's what cicadas actually do underground for those 17 years: they eat. Cicada nymphs tunnel through soil, latch onto tree roots, and spend nearly two decades slowly sucking sap and growing through five developmental stages. They're not hibernating or sleeping - they're actively feeding and developing, just extremely slowly.
It's more like spending 17 years in boarding school than taking a 17-year nap.
The Part That's Actually True
The adult lifespan is short, but it's not exactly two weeks. After emerging from the ground, adult cicadas live for 3 to 6 weeks. During this brief window, they do exactly what the myth suggests: mate frantically and then die. Males congregate in trees and produce their characteristic ear-splitting chorus to attract females. After mating, females lay eggs in tree branches, and both sexes die shortly after.
The eggs hatch, the tiny nymphs drop to the ground, burrow into the soil, and the 17-year cycle begins again.
Why 17 Years?
Scientists believe the long lifecycle and synchronized emergence evolved as a survival strategy. When billions of cicadas appear at once, predators can't possibly eat them all - there's simply too many. The prime-number intervals (13 and 17 years) may also help avoid syncing up with predator population cycles.
- Underground phase: 17 years feeding on tree root sap
- Above-ground phase: 3-6 weeks of mating chaos
- Total life expectancy: Just over 17 years from egg to death
So while the basic premise - long underground development, brief adult life - is accurate, the details got mangled somewhere along the way. Cicadas are neither flies, nor African, nor sleeping. But they are absolutely fascinating.