Anatomy - Cicada Mania

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

June 9, 2021

Brood X 2021 Princeton, New Jersey

The Princeton Battlefield (historical location of one of George Washington’s battles) has always been a great place to find Brood X periodical cicadas.

Here are a few photos I took last weekend:

A female Magicicada septendecim with white eyes & costal wing margin mating:
Magicicada with white eyes mating

A female Magicicada septendecim with white eyes & costal wing margin:
Magicicada septendecim female with white eyes

Magicicada with beige eyes:

Many, many exit holes:
Loads of holes

Triple exit holes in mud (kinda looks like a skull):

Egg nests carved into branches by the cicadas ovipositor:

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May 31, 2021

What are the black spots on the back of a Magicicada cicada?

Filed under: Magicicada | Teneral — Dan @ 3:24 pm

Black Spots

The question I saw most this year (2021) was “what are the black spots on the back of cicadas for”? The people asking this question are specifically talking about Magicicada cicadas that have recently molted and are still white/cream colored and soft (teneral from the Latin word “tenen” meaning soft).

The area of the cicada where the black spots appear is called the pronotum — “pro”, meaning before in Greek, and “notum”, meaning the back, also in Greek. Before the back.

The spots contain a pigment that will gradually spread throughout a cicada body as it hardens, and transforms from white to black.

People speculate that the two black spots resemble eyes, and that might scare away predators. This might be possible, but I haven’t read anything to substantiate the hypothesis.

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April 18, 2021

Periodical cicada nymphs emerging at night

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

One of the most fun periodical cicada experiences is watching thousands of nymphs emerge from the ground at night, and 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.

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April 4, 2020

Photos of teneral Megatibicen dorsatus by Greg Holmes

Megatibicen dorsatus is arguably the most beautiful cicada in the United States. Even it its teneral (meaning soft) form right after molting, in is visually impressive.

These three photos were taken by Greg Holmes of a Megatibicen dorsatus in its post-molting, teneral state.

M. dorsatus; teneral; copyright Greg Holmes

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March 29, 2020

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

Filed under: Brood II | Eye Color | Magicicada | Photos & Illustrations — Tags: M. septendecim — Dan @ 9:38 am

These are photos of a Magicicada septendecim with yellow-white eyes, which is rare, but you can usually find one or two if you spend enough time looking for them. The photos were taken during the 2013 Brood II emergence in Metuchen, NJ.

Yellow-White Eyed Male Magicicada septendecim Metuchen NJ

Yellow-White eyed Male Magicicada septendecim Metuchen NJ 2

White eyed male Magicicada septendecim Metuchen NJ

White eyed male Magicicada septendecim Metuchen NJ 2

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Brood II Magicicada from Edison, New Jersey (2013)

Filed under: Brood II | Exuvia | Magicicada | Photos & Illustrations — Tags: M. septendecim — Dan @ 8:56 am

Brood II Magicicada from Edison, New Jersey (2013).

A mess of Magicicada exuvia and corpses at the foot of a tree in Roosevelt Park in Edison NJ:
Another mess of Magicicada exuvia and corpses at the foot of a tree in Roosevelt Park in Edison NJ

David Rothenberg, John Cooley, Asher Jay and others looking for cicadas in Roosevelt Park:

Magicicada septendecim laying eggs _ovipositing_ in Roosevelt Park in Edison NJ:

Magicicada septendecim laying eggs ovipositing in Roosevelt Park in Edison NJ:

Magicicada septendecim with Massospora fungus found at the Edison Memorial Tower Park in Edison NJ:

Many Magicicada emergence holes in Edison Memorial Tower park in Edison NJ:

Mating Magicicada in Roosevelt Park in Edison NJ:

Mating Magicicada in Roosevelt Park NJ:

Mirror Image – Edison Memorial Tower Park:
Mirror Image - Edison Memorial Tower Park

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March 28, 2020

Photos of Brood V cicadas in West Virginia by Matt Berger

Filed under: Brood V | Eye Color | Magicicada | Matt Berger | Photos & Illustrations — Tags: M. septendecim — Dan @ 6:23 am

Photos of Brood V Magicicada in West Virginia by Matt Berger, including many examples of Magicicadas with a variety of eye colors (the typical color is red).

Brood V emerged in West Virginia (and Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Long Island, NY) in 2016. It will next emerge in 2033.

These photos are BIG. Click/tap the thumbnail for larger versions.

: A Variety of Eye Colors by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Cicada Fungus Infection by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Cicada that sclerotized before it got out of its skin by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Gray Eyed Cicada by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Gray Eyed Cicada Up Close by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Molting Cicada by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Molting Cicada by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Molting Cicada by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Molting Cicada by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Molting Cicada by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Teneral Cicada Up Close by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Teneral Cicada Up Close by Matt Berger. Brood V.

: Teneral Periodical Cicada by Matt Berger. Brood V.

Matt has contributed photos to cicadamania.com for many years. In 2016 he was a post-grad student at West Virginia University. The lab he was part of produced this paper:
Discovery of psychoactive plant and mushroom alkaloids in ancient fungal cicada pathogens
Greg R. Boyce, Emile Gluck-Thaler, Jason C. Slot, Jason E. Stajich, William J. Davis, Tim Y. James, John R. Cooley, Daniel G. Panaccione, Jørgen Eilenberg, Henrik H. De Fine Licht, Angie M. Macias, Matthew C. Berger, Kristen L. Wickert, Cameron M. Stauder, Ellie J. Spahr, Matthew D. Maust, Amy M. Metheny, Chris Simon, Gene Kritsky, Kathie T. Hodge, Richard A. Humber, Terry Gullion, Dylan P. G. Short, Teiya Kijimoto, Dan Mozgai, Nidia Arguedas, Matt T. Kasson
bioRxiv 375105; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/375105

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March 26, 2020

Roy Troutman’s Brood XIV photos, part 3

Filed under: Brood XIV | Eye Color | Magicicada | Photos & Illustrations | Roy Troutman — Dan @ 8:10 pm

Brood XIV (14) Magicicada emerged in the greater Cincinnati area in 2008. Roy Troutman took many photos, and I’ll feature them in a series of galleries.

Skip to Part 1, Part 2 or Part 4.

Molting Magicicada:
Molting Magicicada. Roy Troutman. Brood XIV.