Cicada Mania

Here’s an audio clip of Magicicadas:

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Folks awaiting the Brood XIII 2007 Magicicada emergence should take a looks at these photos and videos to see what they can look forward to:

• Magicicada video.
• Photos of the Magicicada life cycle.
• Roy Troutman’s 2004 Gallery
• Roy Troutman’s 2004 Gallery of Blue and White-eyed cicadas
• Dan’s 2004 Magicicada Gallery
• Brood II Magicicada Photos
• Fred Berry: 2004 Adult Magicicada.
• Phil Smith’s Two Magicicada photos from Indiana 2004.
• Frank Mefford’s Kentucky Magicicada Photo 2004.
• Walter Hanig’s Washington DC Magicicada 2004.
• Steve Groh’s Cincinnati Ohio Magicicadas 2004.
• Mark Goldberg’s Maryland Magicicada Gallery 2004.
• Michael Malsam’s Magicicada Gallery 2004.
• Anonymous’ Magicicada Gallery 2004.
• The McShane Family in Towson, Md, Magicicada Gallery 2004.

There’s plenty more in the gallery.

Mark your calendars, Gene Kritsky will appear at the Ryerson Woods Welcome Center on June 2nd. The Ryerson Woods Welcome Center is also having an event called Cicada Mania: They Don’t Bite. Hmmm…

Festival of the Cicadas from Chicago Wilderness magazine.

The “much-maligned” life of cicadas explored. Technically this is not news, it’s an editorial.

Cicada Mania! Brood XIII Emergence 2007 – Lake County Forest Preserves. Looks like other folks are using the term Cicada Mania for their sites. Great. More Brood XIII information.

From the Beacon News Brace for the buzz.

From the Rock River Times The cicadas are coming back this spring.

From Serenade In Green cicada-licious…?.

The National Science Foundation created several Cicada Data audio programs, probably in 2004. They’re still informative and entertaining, and worth listening to. Put them on your iPod.

• Family Reunion (featuring University of Connecticut biologist Chris Simon)
• Noyz n the Hood (featuring John Odland, an Indiana University researcher)
• Have Eggs will Travel (featuring Biologist Keith Clay of Indiana University)
• Lord of the Tree Rings (featuring Indiana State University researcher James Speer)
• Chalk One up to Suburban Sprawl (featuring Geographer John Odland of Indiana University)
• Cicadas: A Low-Carb Predator Favorite (featuring John Odland, an Indiana University researcher)
• The Mating Game (featuring University of Connecticut biologist Chris Simon)

[tags]cicadas,cicada[/tags]

When is a locust not a locust? When it’s a Magicicada! Periodical cicadas like the 17 and 13 year Magicicadas, are often called 17-year Locusts, probably because they emerge in massive numbers. Cicadas are not locusts, in fact, true locusts are grasshoppers.

Take a look that the illustration of a true locust below. You’ll notice the true locusts have long rear legs for hopping, long antennae, and relatively long bodies. True locusts chew the plants they consume, while Magicicadas suck fluids from trees.

Locust:

17-year cicada:

This information was posted in a comment, but it’s important enough to place on the homepage in a post:

Gene Kritsky was nice enough to send a paper he wrote with a formula for predicting the emergence date. E = (19.465 – t)/0.5136, where E = emergence start date in May and t = average April temperatures in °Celsius. His formula worked like a charm for predicting the Brood X emergence in Cincinnati. 80% of his sites had begun the emergence on the predicted date of May 14th of that year. Also when the ground temperature reaches a consistent 64° Fahrenheit that is another good sign the emergence is about to begin.

Try it out:

Updated: we updated the form to accept 3 numbers past the decimal in case you have super-precise temperature information.

To find the Average Mean Temperature in Celsius on the Weather Underground site:

1. Go to the site
2. Enter your zip code in the box labeled “Find the Weather for any City, State or ZIP Code, or Airport Code or Country”
3. Find the section of the page labeled “History & Almanac”, and click the “April Calendar View” link.
4. Then scroll to the top of that page and you’ll find the info you need.

Thanks to Roy Troutman and Gene.

Bracing for the Buzz: an article for residents of Illinois. The countdown has begun!