Author: Dan

Check your trees at night for molting cicadas.

Here are some tips for finding and photographing newly emerged cicadas at night:

1. Look for cicadas on trees where you’ve heard cicadas during the day, or where you’ve seen cicada nymph exoskeletons.
2. Cicada nymphs emerge from the ground shortly after dusk. You can start your hunt then.
3. Carry a flashlight and your camera. As you approach a tree, shine the flashlight on the ground close to the tree. You don’t want to step on any of them!
4. Scan the tree trunk and all the limbs with your flashlight. Once you spot one, get ready with your camera.
5. If you don’t spot any cicadas after dusk, try a half hour later, and then a half an hour after that, up until 11 pm.
6. Non-techie digital camera tips:
   1. Set the camera on auto or portrait (usually a picture of a profile).
   2. Set the focus on Macro (usually a picture of a tulip) or manual.
   3. Experiment with these settings.
7. Don’t touch the cicadas: for the most natural photos, you don’t want them to be disturbed.

Good luck. I hope they’ll work for you!