Cicada Mania

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

September 28, 2022

A short Neotibicen season in New Jersey. Male teneral Neotibicen tibicen.

Filed under: Cryptotympanini | Molting | Neotibicen — Tags: — Dan @ 7:30 pm

We had a short Neotibicen cicada season in New Jersey in 2022.

I’m used to finding molting Neotibicen cicadas between the first week of July and the last week of August. This year they started emerging in the first week of July, but the last one I found was on August 2nd.

I wonder if the short season was due to the major drought or heat waves New Jersey experienced this summer.

Here are some photos of a freshly-molted/teneral(soft) Morning cicada:

Male freshly-molted Neotibicen tibicen tibicen. Ventral view. Note the opercula.
Neotibicen tibicen 2022 Male

Male freshly-molted Neotibicen tibicen tibicen. Side view.
Neotibicen tibicen 2022 Male Side View

Male freshly-molted Neotibicen tibicen tibicen with folded wings:
Neotibicen tibicen 2022 Folded wings

More from the 2022 season: Neotibicen tibicen tibicen female cicada molting, Neotibicen lyricen found in central New Jersey, and Neotibicen linnei in Northern New Jersey.

Neotibicen tibicen tibicen female cicada molting

Filed under: Cryptotympanini | Molting | Neotibicen — Tags: — Dan @ 7:12 pm

A Neotibicen tibicen tibicen female cicada molting. Also known as Morning or Swamp cicada. 2022, Central New Jersey.

Neotibicen tibicen 2022 Female molting

Neotibicen tibicen 2022 Female

March 27, 2022

Neotibicen lyricen molting in New Jersey July 2021

Filed under: Cryptotympanini | Molting | Neotibicen | Nymphs | Teneral | United States — Dan @ 5:39 am

Here are some Neotibicen lyricen molting in New Jersey July 2021.

Rich caramel eyes; blues & pinks in pronotal collar, legs, and mesonotum; green wings (that will stay green) and orange abdomen.

Neotibicen lyricen New Jersey July 2021

Neotibicen lyricen New Jersey July 2021

Neotibicen lyricen New Jersey July 2021 02

Molting Neotibicen tibicen cicadas

Filed under: Cryptotympanini | Molting | Neotibicen | Teneral | United States — Tags: — Dan @ 5:10 am

Here’s some photos of Molting Neotibicen tibicen tibicen cicadas taken in New Jersey in July of 2021.

Neotibicen tibicen tibicen July 2021

Neotibicen tibicen tibicen July 2021

Neotibicen tibicen tibicen July 2021

Neotibicen tibicen tibicen July 2021

Neotibicen tibicen tibicen July 2021

Neotibicen tibicen tibicen July 2021

July 3, 2021

Examples of flagging from Brood X in Princeton

Filed under: Magicicada | Ovipositing | Periodical — Dan @ 10:13 pm

When Magicicada cicadas deposit eggs into a tree branch sometimes the branch dies, the leaves turn brown, and the branch droops like a flag. This is called flagging.

Here are some examples of flagging from the Brood X emergence in Princeton, NJ.

Typically flagging is more impactful to trees imported to North America, but it also impacts native species. The positive aspect is it prunes weaker branches, which helps the tree, and helps other plants in the shade of the tree.

If you want to learn whether eggs/larva survive flagging read FLAGGING: HOSTS DEFENCES VERSUS OVIPOSITION STRATEGIES IN PERIODICAL CICADAS (MAGICICADA SPP., CICADIDAE, HOMOPTERA) by JoAnn White. Hint: very few survive.

A small tree with flagging:
A small oak with flagging

Flagging up close:
Flagging up close

Another small tree with flagging:
Another small tree with flagging

May 30, 2021

Rainy day Magicicada behavior

Filed under: Behavior | Brood X | Magicicada — Tags: — Dan @ 8:09 pm

Brood X has emerged in Princeton, New Jersey, but the weather is currently not great for cicadas: less than 50°F and rainy. Undaunted, I visited Princeton yesterday to observe Magicicada cicada behavior on a cold, rainy day.

I arrived at Princeton Battleground State Park around 3:30 PM and immediately head to the short trees and tall weeds, like honeysuckle, that line the perimeter of the park. I was pleased to see hundreds of cicadas clinging to the leaves, stems, and branches of the plants — seemingly without extra effort or discomfort. Many were weighted down by droplets of rain, which seemed to roll off their bodies and bead on their wings like translucent pearls.

Even though temperatures were below 50°F (9°C) I did hear an occasional distress call, and saw plenty of cicadas mating — perhaps they started mating before the rain and cold weather began. No flying. No calls, chorusing, or wing flicks.

Other than thousands of seemingly healthy but (patient) cicadas hanging from vegetation, there were plenty of malformed cicadas on the trunks of larger trees, and piles of exuvia and corpses circling tree trunks. The air around trees stank like ammonia and rotting fat and meat — not unlike a dumpster behind a burger restaurant.

I saw mostly Magicicada septendecim and some Magicicada cassini. No apparent Magicicada septendecula. I saw just one M. Septendecim infected with Massospora cicadina fungus. While there was plenty of avian activity in the area, I did not see any birds or other creatures feast on the docile or dead cicada — maybe I scared them away — maybe their appetites were satiated.

Cicadas dripping with rain:
Cicadas dripping with rain

Cicadas mating:
Cicadas Mating

Cicadas mating

M. Septendecim infected with Massospora cicadina fungus:
Massospora

May 2, 2021

Different types of Magicicada periodical cicada holes

Filed under: Brood X | Chimneys | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 5:19 pm

Different types of Magicicada periodical cicada holes found in Princeton, NJ. Brood X, 2021. Generally speaking, their holes are about the size of a dime. You won’t see a spray or kickback of soil around the hole like you would when an animal is digging into the soil rather than coming out of it (cicadas are coming out).

Typical dime-sized cicada holes

Typical Holes

A hole with a corresponding mini cicada-chimney

Here's a hole and cap

A golf ball sized chimney over a hole

Mud Golf Ball

A hole borrowed into a hay bale laying on the ground

Hole in Hay

A hole in moss

A hole in moss

Holes in the underside of a rotten log, with a nymph!

Cicadas will burrow up from the soil of the ground and keep going into the rotting wood of a rotten log! I had to roll the log over to see it.
Holes in a Log

The inside view of a 4″ cicada chimney

Chimey

Video of a Nymph

April 18, 2021

Periodical cicada nymphs emerging at night

Filed under: Brood XIII | Magicicada | Molting | Nymphs | Periodical — Tags: — Dan @ 5:29 am

One of the most fun periodical cicada experiences is watching thousands of nymphs emerge from the ground at night, crawl to the nearest vertical surface (hopefully a tree) and begin to molt.

This is a video by Roy Troutman from 2007 of the Brood XIII emergence, specifically in Ryerson Woods in Illinois:

Observing magicicada emergence at Ryerson Woods from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.

Here’s a time-lapse video, also by Roy, of a cicada nymph molting:

Magicicada nymph molting from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.

March 29, 2020

Molting & Molted cicadas – Brood II Magicicada from Metuchen, New Jersey (2013)

Filed under: Brood II | Magicicada | Molting | Photos & Illustrations — Dan @ 10:14 am

This is a series of molting and recently molted teneral (soft) cicadas from the 2013 Brood II Magicicada emergence in Metuchen, NJ.

Click/tap the image for a larger version.

Other galleries in this series:

Chimneys – Brood II Magicicada from Metuchen, New Jersey (2013)

Filed under: Brood II | Chimneys | Magicicada | Photos & Illustrations — Dan @ 9:31 am

These are some small cicada chimneys created by Magicicada during Brood II in 2013 in Metuchen. Magicicadas occasionally create chimneys above the holes they emerge from — more often when the soil is wet or ground is shadowed (under a deck, in a lawn mower shed). These were shaded by a large pine.

Cicada Chimney Metuchen Brood II

Cicada Chimney Metuchen Brood II

Cicada Chimney Metuchen Brood II

More »

Cicada T-shirts