This diagram represents how a cicada transforms from eggs to an imago.
Overall, it goes through three stages, eggs, nymph, and cicada. This cycle happens near a tree or inside a tree, which takes several months to several years. The cycle from eggs to imago repeats within minimum 2 to 3 years to maximum 17 to 18 years.
Looking at the diagram more closely, eggs first exist in branches of a tree. However, after 2 to 7 months, place where it grow changes. When it comes to nymph, it lives underground or in tunnels near tree roots. This is time consuming step, since it takes 2 to 17 years to be done. After that period, it finally gets out of the ground and starts to take off its skin layer, which takes 20 to 150 minutes. As this process ends, cicada has shape of adult we commonly recognize. Later, when it produces eggs, this cycle restarts from the first.