Cicada Mania

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

June 17, 2013

Jean-Francois Duval’s Cicada Photos from Connecticut

Filed under: Brood II | Magicicada | Periodical | Photos & Illustrations — Dan @ 8:09 pm

Jean-Francois Duval of Victoriaville, Québec wrote me back on April 15th looking for advice for where and when to observe the 2013 Brood II emergence. Where is easier than when. I recommended a park in Connecticut (closest state to Victoriaville, Québec) that is known to have Brood II cicadas. When was more difficult this year because of a cold and rainy spring; cold and rain delay emergences or make them difficult to appreaciate.

I’m happy to say Jean-Francois made it to Connecticut at the right time to see the cicadas. Here is a selection of his photos.

Adult Magicicada and cicada with failed ecdysis in Connecticut by Jean-Francois Duval

Cicada emergence holes in Connecticut by Jean-Francois Duval

Exuvia on a tree in Connecticut by Jean-Francois Duval

Magicicada exuvia in Connecticut by Jean-Francois Duval

Magicicada septendecim in Connecticut by Jean-Francois Duval

Teneral Magicicada and exuvia in Connecticut by Jean-Francois Duval

Teneral Magicicada in Connecticut by Jean-Francois Duval

White Eyed Magicicada in Dale city VA by Stephen Cota

June 15, 2013

Oklahoma surprise periodical cicada emergence!

Filed under: Brood II | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 5:13 am

Periodical cicadas (Magicicada) are emerging in and around the Oklahoma City area, unexpectedly!

OK map

June 15th:

The Facebook page for this event posted that there are Oklahoma State University records of going back to 1996, 1979, 1962, and 1928, showing a 17 year pattern. There’s also some confusion between this “micro brood” [a term I’m using because I like beer] and Brood IV, because the Oklahoma M. cassini have orange stripes like an M. septendecula, and you can only tell them apart by their DNA (and their song, of course).

Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) had a Facebook update as well.

June 13th:

Chris Simon says they “think that this might be an undiscovered brood that just happens to coincide with Brood II.”

Gene Kristsky found a page that mentioned Brood II in OK, and Chris Simon pointed out that the cicadas fill a gap in Brood IV.

Thanks to T. Wilken for posting this image. it is a male M. cassini.

I checked the document Drew, W. A., F. L. Spangler and D. Molnar. 1974. Oklahoma Cicadidae (Homoptera). Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science. Stillwater. 54: 90-7. No specific mention of Oklahoma county.

Original post:

There is an Oklahoma 17 Year Cicada Early Emergence Facebook page. (They might be 13 year cicadas, BTW).

If you are in Oklahoma please visit Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) and report your sighting! View the sightings on the map.

Random conjecture:

  • They could be Brood IV, which are due to emerge in 2015, making this a two year acceleration that brood. This could also be Brood XIX, which last emerged in 2011, making this a two year deceleration.
  • They could be an undocumented emergence of Brood II.
  • But the really weird thing is, Oklahoma City is outside of the Brood IV and Brood XIX areas.
  • Did some windy weather move the cicadas westward?
  • Did a nursery in the Brood IV or XIX area inadvertently move them to OK City?
  • Did someone play cicada egg “Johnny Appleseed”?

June 11, 2013

Cicada Video of the Week

Filed under: Brood II | Magicicada | Ovipositing | Periodical | Video — Tags: — Dan @ 4:18 am

Here’s some cicada video I shot over the weekend. Enjoy:

Magicicada trying to take a drink from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

Singing Magicicada septendecim from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

Magicicada septendecim ovipositing from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

Magicicada septendecim ovipositing from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

Close up of a tymbal of a Magicicada septendecim from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

June 8, 2013

Roy Troutman’s 2013 Brood II cicada photos

When Roy Troutman visited New Jersey last week he took a lot of great cicada photos. Here is a sample of the best.

Click these photos to see larger versions of the photos:

Five days of Cicada Mania

Two Wednesdays ago, May 29th, my friends Roy and Michelle Troutman arrived in New Jersey. Roy has been a cicada enthusiast since he was a child growing up in Ohio. Roy has contributed many photos and videos to cicadamania.com over the years. We met in Chicago for Brood XIII in 2007, and I visited his home in Ohio for Brood XIV in 2008. This year it was my turn to return the favor for Brood II, and Roy and Michelle drove out to New Jersey.

Wednesday night we drove up to Metuchen, New Jersey to check out the emergence there. We met up with Elias Bonaros, at my Mother’s home. This location was fantastic for cicadas back in 1996, so it was worth trying again in 2013. My Mother’s yard was loaded with hundreds of cicada nymphs, teneral cicadas and adults.

Thursday, May 30th, was a beach day for Michelle, and a cicada day for Roy and I. Roy and I drove to Middlesex county to meet up with Elias. Roy and I stopped at Roosevelt Park along the way. The groves of trees near the Plays in the Park building were filled with chorusing M. septendecim. The base of one tree was absolutely covered with discarded cicada exuvia (shells).

A mass of exuvia and corpses by Roy Troutman
Photo by Roy.

He headed to the Thomas Edison Monument in Edison NJ. There we met Elias. At the monument, sounds of construction competed with cicada choruses, but it was easy to hear both M. septendecim and M. cassini. The burdock filled field across from the monument, was filled with teneral Magiciada.

We hit Merrill Park in Colonia next. The park had many examples of both M. cassini and M. septendecim. The highlights were the many M. septendecim with caramel colored eyes, a small pine with close to 100 teneral adults clinging to its base, and loud, synchronized M. cassini choruses.

Adult Magicicada on a pine tree by Roy Troutman
Photo by Roy.

Next we headed to a very loud M. cassini chorusing center on Guernsey Lane in Colonia. There Elias and Roy experimented with making males call and change orientation by snapping their fingers (imitating a females wing snaps). This location is where the how loud (in decibels) do periodical cicadas get video came from.

Elias used his sharp ears to locate some M. septendecula in Iselin at the corner of Wood and Willow.

We stopped by Revere Blvd in Edison, which was a hot spot 17 years ago, not much luck in 2013, but the best find was a pseudo scorpion that has hitched a ride on a cicada.

Friday, May 31st, Roy, Michelle and I drove out to Staten Island, to the Staten Island Museum. Me met Ed Johnson, and enjoyed their fantastic cicada exhibit, including the cicada timeline which features me. The Staten Island Museum has the largest collection of cicada specimens in the U.S.A., including many of the extinct Tibicen bermudiana.

Staten Island Museum 17 Year Cicada Exhibit
Just one corner of the Staten Island Museum 17 year cicada exhibit.

We took the ferry to Manhattan for a visit to the American Museum of Natural History to see an exhibit that was using some of Roy’s cicada video. Coincidentally we exited the C line Subway that had a mosaic of a cicada.

Roy Troutman and Elias Bonaros at the Periodical Cicada display at the American Museum of Natural History by Michelle Troutman
Elias and Roy examining a periodical cicada display at the AMNH.

Elias and Roy
Roy and Elias under the subway cicada mosaic.

Then it was back to the Staten Island Museum for an event called The Joy of Six Legged Sex which was about insect mating behavior, specifically cicadas. John Cooley of Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) and Ed Johnson of the Staten Island Museum spoke. David Rothenberg was also in attendance.

The Joy of Six Legged Sex event at the Staten Island Museum
A sign for the event at the Staten Island Museum.

John Cooley and Ed Johnson speaking at the Staten Island Museum Six Legged Sex event by Roy Troutman
John Cooley (left) and Ed Johnson (right).

Saturday, June 1st, Roy and Michelle left for Ohio. Later that day I met up with John Cooley, Jin Yoshimura, David Rothenberg, the New York Times, and friends. Read about that adventure: David Rothenberg, John Cooley and the New York Times.

Sunday, June 2nd, back to Staten Island to meet Chris Simon and Elias. More about that adventure in these posts:

Cicada Hunting with Chris Simon

Filed under: Brood II | Chris Simon | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 9:13 am

Last Sunday (June 1st) I met Chris Simon and Elias Bonaros in Staten Island. Chris was in Staten Island, NY to map cicada locations, and collect some specimens. Elias and I helped her find some M. septendecim and M. cassini.

Elias Bonaros (left) Chris Simon of Uconn (middle) Dan Mozgai (right) looking for cicadas
Elias (left), Chris (middle), Dan (right).

Chris Simon leads the Simon Lab at the University of Connecticut. From her biography: “Chris Simon is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut and Adjunct Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.” “Recent projects in her laboratory focus on the systematics, biogeography, evolution of cicadas worldwide, the application of information on molecular evolutionary processes to the improvement of tree-building, speciation and its relationship to past climates and landforms, evolution of periodical life cycles, the role of song in the evolution of insect species, and molecular evolution of the secondary structure of ribosomal RNA.”

A Magicicada with Pink Eyes held by Chris Simon of UConn. Brood II. 2013.
Chris Simon holding a pink eyed Magicicada.

Brood II Magicicada photos from Montclair, NJ

Filed under: Brood II | Magicicada | Periodical | Photos & Illustrations — Dan @ 8:44 am

Enjoy these photos of Brood II Magicicada from Montclair, NJ by Claudine Ohayon.

Click each image thumbnail for larger versions:

More Cicada Photos from Westfield, NJ by Jim Occi

Filed under: Brood II | Jim Occi | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 8:35 am

Here are more Magicicada photos from Westfield, NJ by Jim Occi.

Click the images for larger versions:

Brood II Magicicada photos from Scotch Plains, NJ

Filed under: Brood II | Magicicada | Periodical | Photos & Illustrations — Tags: — Dan @ 8:32 am

Enjoy these Brood II Magicicada photos from Scotch Plans, NJ from Judy Lanfredi.

Click each thumbnail image for larger versions.

Brood II Cicada Video from 2013

Filed under: Brood II | Magicicada | Periodical | Sounds | Video — Tags: , , — Dan @ 6:21 am

Enjoy these videos of the Brood II Magicicada emergence from 2013.

Magicicada septendecim ovipositing

Magicicada septendecim ovipositing.

Periodical Cicadas in Merrill Park in Colonia NJ

Periodical Cicadas in Merrill Park in Colonia NJ.

Either a Magicicada cassini or septendecula

Either a Magicicada cassini or septendecula.

A calling Magicicada septendecim

A calling Magicicada septendecim.

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