Elias went digging for Magicicada nymphs on 3/21. Here’s a gallery of the nymphs he found.
March 29, 2010
July 5, 2009
Life in the Undergrowth
I just finished watching the BBC mini-series Life in the Undergrowth staring several million invertebrates and David Attenborough. (I watched it in between the picnics, fireworks, and swimming that mostly occupies my time.) Fans of cicadas and land-dwelling invertebrates will love this show. Attenborough is the best when it comes to explaining the natural world to TV viewers.
BBC thoughtfully put the segment of the show about 17 year cicadas on YouTube.
I like the bit when he lures the male around by imitating the wing flicks of females.
You can buy it in the usual places, or rent it of course.
May 31, 2009
Magicicada photos from Sandy Aiello
Earlier this month I posted the video of insect enthusiast Sandy Aiello interviewed by NBC Washington about the Magicicada emergence.
Sandy Aiello was kind enough to let us post some of her Magicicada photos on Cicadamania:
May 26, 2009
Magicicada septendecim photos
On Monday (Memorial Day) I was lucky enough to find a lone Magicicada septendecim brood II straggler in Metuchen, NJ. This is a male, and he was about 1.5 inches or 3.8 centimeters long.
UPDATED! Now with high-rez versions.
Magicicada septendecim brood II straggler
Thanks to Elias for noticing the coloration behind the eye that IDs this as a decim.
May 23, 2009
Brood II Emerging in New Jersey and New York
According to messages left on this site, as well as the magicicada.org map, Brood II cicadas have emerged in New Jersey and New York. I’m in New Jersey, and I plan on looking for cicadas this weekend.
So far:
Brood II stragglers are emerging (4 years ahead of schedule) in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.
Brood XIV stragglers are emerging (1 year after they’re supposed to) in Ohio.
Update:
I found some skins in Metuchen, NJ tonight. Apologies for the quality of the photo — I only had my cell phone with me.
May 20, 2009
Brood XIV stragglers confirmed as well as Brood II
So, we already know that Brood II stragglers are emerging in places like North Carolina and Virginia. Brood II cicadas weren’t due until 2013, which means the Brood II cicadas emerging now are emerging 4 years ahead of schedule.
At the same time, Brood XIV stragglers are emerging in Ohio (Batavia, Ohio to be exact). Brood XIV emerged in full-force last year, which means some Brood XIV cicadas emerging now are emerging 1 year behind schedule.
If you compare the Brood II map and Brood XIV map you’ll see they don’t overlap. Hint: open each map in a different browser or browser tab and toggle between the two.
Here’s some pictures of the Brood XIV stragglers Roy Troutman found just tonight in Batavia, Ohio.
Cicada News Report from Virginia
Cicada News Report from Virginia. The report says Brood XIV, but they’re likely Brood II.
May 15, 2009
More Brood II Straggler Reports
Sightings have been reported in Fredericksburg and Springfield Virginia on our message board (although the reports ended up in the wrong message board).
A sighting from the basement of a Staten Island home was reported on the Entomology-Cicadidae Yahoo Group.
Many people have reported sightings on the magicicada.org site, including locations in Virginia, Maryland and of course North Carolina.
Bonus points if you spot a straggler with the massospora cicadina fungus:
Finding cicadas with this fungus (which is relatively common during normal emergence years) would help disprove theories as to why they’re emerging early.
May 7, 2009
Brood II Stragglers Emerging in New Locations
John Zyla of Cicadas.info has a report of a Brood II Magicicada (decim) found in Hollywood, St. Mary’s Co, MD.
If you find a cicada make sure you report it to Magicicada.org (Dr. John Cooley), and if in the Mid-Atlantic region report it to Cicadas.info (John Zyla) as well.
I’m pretty psyched — looks like some Brood II stragglers might emerge in New Jersey.
May 6, 2009
Be on the look out for Brood II cicadas!
Brood II isn’t set to emerge for 4 more years, however it appears that Brood II cicadas are emerging 4 years ahead of time in some places. See our previous post about the cicadas emerging in Greensboro NC.
Here’s a map of Brood II’s range.
If you do see or hear a Magicicada emerge this year, report it to Magicicada.org.
And don’t forget to upload photos and video to your YouTubes, Flickrs, FaceBooks, MySpace, etc, and tell us about it.
Image of Magicicada:
