This process is called sublimation. The opposite (deposition) is where a gas turns directly into a solid. Sublimation occurs if the pressure and temperature are right for the specific substance, so that the solid phase in a phase diagram borders the gas phase.
Most cicadas go through a life cycle that lasts from two to five years. Some species have much longer life cycles, such as the North American genus, Magicicada, which has a number of distinct broods that go through either a 17-year or, in some parts of the world, a 13-year life cycle.
Insects are one of the rare animals that can spend long periods in their developmental stages. Cicadae spend between 13 and 17 years in the ground developing as larvae, but when they emerge as adults, they live less than one month. Some species of long-horned beetles can live up to 35 years as larvae.