Cicada Mania: cicada

December 29, 2008

Time Warp of a Magicicada timbalizing (making their sound)

Filed under: Cicada Anatomy,Magicicada,Pop Culture — Tags: anatomy, cicada — by Dan Mozgai @ 7:57 am

Thanks to Elias for sending us the link to this video clip of a Magiciada timbalizing, a.k.a. making the sound they make. The clip is from the show Time Warp which airs on the Discovery channel. Time Warp features video of common, or not-so-common, events slowed down so you can see what your eyes and mind aren’t capable of seeing in normal time. I recommend the show — it’s fun and educational. I saw the episode, and immediately went to their site looking for the clip but they didn’t have it — thankfully someone posted it on YouTube and Elias found it.

Yeah, I know the picture shows a snake, but trust me, the first segment of the clip is about cicadas.

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August 23, 2008

Cicada vs. Cicada Killer

Filed under: Cicada Killer Wasps,Pop Culture — Tags: art, cicada, Cicada Killer Wasp — by Dan Mozgai @ 8:26 am

A cicada vs. Cicada Killer Wasp, typically isn’t much of a battle — the cicada typically loses.

My friend David Wilson made a display out of an old clock featuring a cicada and Cicada Killer Wasp locked in battle (or the wasp going grocery shopping for its larvae, depending on how you want to look at it).

Check it out, I think it’s very cool.

David said:

The thing is a diorama I made of an unnoticed moment in history. With New Brunswick [New Jersey], as seen from Highland Park circa 1900, in the back round.

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August 9, 2008

Cicada Killer Wasps

Filed under: Cicada Killer Wasps,Joe Green — Tags: cicada, Cicada Killer Wasps — by Dan Mozgai @ 11:54 am

Now is the time for big, meaty Tibicen cicadas, and nothing loves Tibicens more than Cicada Killer Wasps. Cicada Killer Wasps are large wasps that use living cicada bodies to nourish their wasp larvae.

People fear these wasps, but they’re not interested in people — only cicadas. They’ll only attack people if people attack them. So keep your distance, but don’t bother to kill them. Respect them, but don’t wreck them.

Prof. Chuck Holiday has the best information about these wasps.

Joe Green sent us this photo of a Cicada Killer Wasp clutching a cicada. See if you can spot the cicada under the wasp.

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October 11, 2005

Cicada Larvae Pictures

Filed under: Cicada Anatomy — Tags: cicada, first instar, larve, pictures — by Dan Mozgai @ 8:35 pm

So, what do cicada larvae look like???

First, here’s what their eggs look like. The mother cicada scratches a hole into a tree branch, and places in eggs in like a row of bananas.

When the eggs hatch, the cicadas don’t look like a grub or maggot as you might expect; instead they look like tiny termites or ants, with 6 legs and antennae.

Here’s photos of Ist Instar cicadas.

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