The most common misconception is that they are locusts.
Locusts are large migratory grasshoppers that travel in great swarms.
Cicadas, by contrast, are large flylike creatures. Unlike locusts, which eat vegetation, cicadas damage trees during the egg-laying process. Other cicada falsehoods are that they sting and bite. The sting myth developed from the sharply pointed lower portion of the cicada's abdomen and the buzzing sound the insect makes as it flies. Similarly, the cicada closely resembles a large horsefly.