Cicada shell

← (30) Evening cicada

New Horizons bugs

Red dragonfly (32) →

New Horizons bugs
← (30) Evening cicada	→ Red dragonfly (32)

Cicada shell
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Unknown Family: Unknown
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  セミのぬけがら  蝉蜕  Mue de cigale  Muda de cigarra  Esuvia di cicala  Кокон цикады  매미 허물  蟬蛻  Mue de cigale  Carcasa de cigarra  Zikadenlarvenhaut  Cicadehuid

The cicada shell is a bug in the Animal Crossing series introduced in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. By definition, it is the exoskeleton left behind by a cicada nymph, making it the only bug in the series that is not living. The cicada shell can be found on trees all day from mid to late summer. Unlike other bugs, the player can run or walk past the tree without scaring the cicada shell away. The only way to make the bug disappear is to shake the tree or hit the tree with an axe, causing it to drop to the ground and disappear.

Catch details

In New Leaf

#24

"I caught a cicada shell! It's just a shell of its former self!"

Time of year	Jul – Aug
Time of day	All day
Peak times	N/A
Location	On trees (hardwood and cedar)
Size	40 mm
Rarity	Very common
Selling price	100 Bells
Furniture size

In New Horizons

#31

"I found a cicada shell! I'm glad the little guy came out of it!"

Time of year	North: Jul – Aug South: Jan – Feb
Time of day	All day
Location	On trees (hardwood and cedar)
Weather	Any weather
Spawn requirement	Catch 50 total bugs
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  10 Bells  Flick:  15 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

In New Leaf

"Cicada larvae emerge from the ground in the evening and molt on trees, leaving behind empty shells. It's possible to find out the species of cicadas just by looking at these shells. Collecting the shells will tell you how many and what kind of cicadas inhabit a certain area."

It can be found in the top section of the upper right room in the bug habitat of the museum, with the other cicadas.

In New Horizons

"Cicadas! The nerve! Not only are they loud, they leave their cicada shells lying about! When it's time for a cicada nymph to turn into an adult, you see, it clings to a tree and sheds its exoskeleton. Then it just leaves this shell of its former self hanging right there! Awful manners, really...and awfully terrifying too."

Once donated, the cicada shell can be found on the trees right in front of the entrance to the bug exhibit. They are also found in the second room nearby where ants are located, which may be referencing the 17-year periodical cicadas.

Gallery

For more images, view this subject's gallery.

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  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

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  Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Real-world information

Cicada nymph exuviae from an unidentified species.

Cicadoidea, cicadas, are a superfamily of true bugs consisting of over 3,000 species. A distinctive element of their life cycle is that they undergo incomplete metamorphosis, starting life as nymphs which continuously grow over their lifetimes before maturing into a fully developed, winged adult. After hatching, nymphs burrow underground, where they spend the majority of their lives and feed on sap from tree roots; depending on the species, this period lasts anywhere from two years to nearly two decades. In the leadup to maturation, the nymphs nocturnally surface and cling to trees, where they shed their exoskeletons and emerge in their mature forms. The adults then fly off to find mates and begin the life cycle anew, leaving behind the exuviae, which remain fastened to the surface where molting occurred. It is these abandoned exoskeletons which serve as the basis for cicada shells in the Animal Crossing series.

Names in other languages

	セミのぬけがら semi no nukegara	Cicada's shell
	매미　허물 maemi heomul	Cicada shell
	蝉蜕 chántuì	Cicada shell
	蟬蛻 Unknown
	Кокон цикады Kokon tsikady	Cicada cocoon
	Cicadehuid	Cicada skin
	Zikadenlarvenhaut	Cicada larva skin
	Muda de cigarra	Cicada molting
	Carcasa di cigarra	Cicada shell
	Mue de cigale	Cicada molting
	Esuvia di cicala	Cicada shell