Did you experience the loud, some would say annoying roaring of the periodical 17 year cicada? If you did, you may have noticed some trees showing early signs of autumn leaves. Well, these trees are not yet dormant. The brown leaves are a result of the cicadas successful breeding. The damaged, dead leaves hanging on the trees are referred to as flagging. After weeks of the singing critters emerging, the trees in my backyard are looking spotty, and I wanted to know why. The female cicada is equipped with a saw-like egg depositor. She cuts slits into the tree stems and lays her eggs in the tight cell. In some cases, the stems will fall to the ground, but sometimes they will remain on the tree leading to flagging. After a few weeks, the eggs hatch and the nymphs make their way into the soil by stepping directly off the grounded stems or from the height of the tree. Cicidas cause little harm to mature trees, but they can be damaging to young trees especially in situations with high concentration of flagging.