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.
A large brood of 17-year periodical cicadas (genus Magicicada) is expected to emerge this spring across portions of eastern North America. These insects spend up to 13 or 17 years of their life cycle living underground. Then, they emerge in large numbers to breed.