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 six species of periodical cicadas, three with a 17-year cycle and three with a 13-year cycle. The three species in each life-cycle group are distinctive in size, color, and song. The 17-year cicadas are generally northern, and the 13-year cicadas southern with considerable overlap in their distribution.