are locusts the same as cicadas? and if so, why did we start refering to them as cicadas in the first place?

Question

so i have always heard them refered to as locusts until just about, what 3 or 4 years ago?
whats the deal?

Thank you for clearing that up

Answer 1

No, they are not the same. They belong to different orders. Cicadas are in the order Homoptera, most closely related to plant lice and leafhoppers. They lay eggs in slits in twigs; annual species hatch and mature on their host trees
and sing loudly during hot summer days. Periodical cicadas drop to the ground after hatching and spend anywhere from a few to 17 years as nymphs feeding on tree roots underground before maturing to adults.

The term "locust" is a general colloquial term. Although cicadas are commonly referred to as locusts, the term more correctly applies to migratory grasshoppers of the order Orthoptera, but is sometimes applied to other insects of the order, including crickets and katydids.

Answer 2

Cicadas are flies. Locusts are a kind of grasshopper.
The reason cicadas were called locusts is because the periodical cicadas come out in massive numbers reminiscent of the locust plagues mentioned in the Bible. (Locust plagues are still a problem in some parts of the world; they can eat up all the plants in their path.) But adult cicadas don't do any damage whatsoever. They are just a noisy nuisance in such numbers.

Answer 3

No, they are two different insects.