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.
There are annual cicadas, which appear every year, and periodical cicadas, such as the ones emerging in the northeast U.S., which appear in 13- and 17-year life cycles. Periodical cicadas are only found in eastern North America.