Cicada Mania

Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.

April 13, 2011

It’s on! The first Brood XIX Magicicada cicada sightings

Filed under: Brood XIX — Dan @ 5:13 am

Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) reported on Facebook that they’ve received their first two Brood XIX sightings. You can see where on their site (check their 2011 Brood XIX sightings map).

Have you seen a cicada, and not reported it yet?

Here’s what to look for to get ready:

Look for holes in soil. Holes about the diameter of man’s finger. This is a sign that nymphs have dug their way to the surface in preparation to emerge:

Cicada holes

Magicicada holes

Magicicada holes

Also Look for cicada chimneys, aka turrets. These are similar to holes in that the nymphs are coming to the surface in preparation to emerge. The cicadas build these structures out of soil where their tunnels meet the surface.

Magicicada chimneys

Look for cicada nymphs. This is what Magicicada nymphs look like. They’re golden-brown, they have six prominent legs, and red eyes.

Magicicada nymphs

Look for adults. The guy at the top-right side of every Cicada Mania page is a Magicicada. You’ll also find hundreds of Magicicada photos in our gallery on this site.

3 Comments »

  1. Matt Gulick says:

    They are plentiful here in Texas.

    Many shed exo-skeletons on deck posts and our Yellow-Bell leaves. Air is filled with a constant droning buzz. Last year we had some flagging on various Oak Tree branches, but none so far this year.

    Location: 30°34’56” N. 97°45’5″ W

    Thanks.
    Matt Gulick
    Gulick The Emu Ranch

  2. Dave says:

    First clear record of emerging adults on magicicada.org today…

  3. Dave says:

    It looks like those records may be sightings of nymphs preparing to emerge. The one in northern GA is especially surprising since the first ones to appear are more likely to be in the warmest places, which are farther south in central GA, SC, and AL. But it won’t be long now. There are many places where urbanization is increasing local soil temperatures, and cicadas surviving in those areas will be up earlier than the ordinary forest populations.

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