Cicada Emerging From Skeleton

When I first spotted this Cicada, I assumed it was just an exoskeleton. When I looked a little closer, it started to move. It was crawling up from the ground getting ready to spread it's wings!

I tried to be patient while waiting for the skin to split, but a "watched pot never boils"! I walked away for 15 minutes a couple of times, and then returned to see the start of emergence.

It took about 30 minutes to get to the stage in the last picture above.

I had to leave but came back an hour later to find it hanging from its former skin.

Pretty cool experience!