This is a cicada’s ovipositor, a sabre-like structure at the rear of the insect used to lay eggs. Every 17 years, swarms of adult cicadas (Magicicada septendecim) emerge from forest floors throughout North America. After a mating frenzy, females are ready to lay their eggs. Females will locate new growth on a tree and use this scissor-like anatomy to cut into wood to deposit up to ten eggs.