| "Cicada beetles are amazing. They burrow underground for eighteen years, then climb out of their nest and live in the outside world for only a week." |
| — Mai to her students.[1] |
The cicada beetle is a flying insect that lives in the Fire Nation.[1]
History
When Mai joined the Royal Fire Academy for Girls as a teacher by Fire Lord Zuko's request, a cicada beetle flew into the classroom and landed on Princess Kiyi's shoulder, startling her. Mai asked the girl to calm down, explaining that it was just a little cicada beetle and probably flew around looking for a place to land. She told the class about the insect's life cycle and prompted them to imagine spending their whole lives underground in total darkness, never knowing there is a different world outside, and when they finally get to see that world, they only get a week to enjoy it. Then, Mai defied the Academy's traditional teaching style by inviting the girls outside to catch bugs, which earned a positive reaction by them but an accusatory glare from Headmistress Shihan. The teacher and her students created a terrarium for the class in which they could watch the cicada beetles hatch, and collected leaves for them to eat. Nuo, one of the girls, named her cicada beetle Chirpy.
Later, when Dai Li agents who still supported Azula were summoned by ex-Headmistress Pearl to kidnap Shihan, they were faced by Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee in the Academy. Mai, watching the terrarium full of cicada beetles, threw one of her shoes at it, breaking the glass and setting them free. The insects flew over the Dai Li's faces, distracting them and allowing Shihan to get away from them and escape.[1]
Anatomy
Cicada beetles are medium-sized insects which fit in a human's palm and their skin possesses a citron tone. They have three pairs of articulated legs and a pair of hyaline wing. Three horns protrude from the beetle's head, one from between its two eyes which bifurcates on its end, and two on the top of its head which point forward.[1]
Behavior
These insects burrow underground for 18 years to then emerge from their nest and live in the outside world for a week. They are pacific toward humans, which allows them to be kept as pets in a terrarium. However, when they get frightened or see themselves threatened, they can fly toward their attacker's head.[1]
Notable cicada beetles
- Chirpy[1]
Connection
In the world of Avatar, the cicada beetle's front horn and their legs resemble to those of the giant rhinoceros beetles, often found in the Si Wong Desert.[2] It is a hybrid between a cicada and a rhinoceros beetle. Specifically, among species of rhinoceros beetle, its front horn bears a resemblance to that of the Xylotrupes gideon (or brown rhinoceros beetle) or the Allomyrina dichotoma (or Japanese rhinoceros beetle).[3] Their wings are similar to species of Japanese cicadas, such as the Tanna japonensis.[4] The cicada beetle's life cycle is based on real-life cicada's, as they live underground as nymphs to later emerge to transform into adults every 13 to 17 years. Then, the adult periodical cicadas only live three to four weeks.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Hicks, Faith Erin (writer), Wartman, Peter (artist), Matera, Adele (colorist), Betancourt, Jimmy (letterer). Ashes of the Academy (2025), Dark Horse Comics.
- ↑ Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch (writer) & Volpe, Giancarlo (director). (October 13, 2006). "Appa's Lost Days". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 16. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ A day in the life of a Kabuto-mushi (rhinoceros beetle) lab. The Node (December 10, 2018). Retrieved on March 29, 2025.
- ↑ Tanna japonensis japonensis (Distant, 1892). Cicada Mania (December 5, 2018).
- ↑ Periodical Cicadas. National Museum of Natural History - Smithsonian. Retrieved on March 29, 2025.