Cicada eggs and first instar nymph photos by Roy Troutman:
Cicada Eggs:
First instar cicada nymphs:
Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
Cicada eggs and first instar nymph photos by Roy Troutman:
Cicada Eggs:
First instar cicada nymphs:
It’s been about six weeks since the emergence of Brood VIII in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Oklahoma. Now (first week of August) is a good a time as any to check for periodical cicada nymphs that have hatched from eggs laid in branches. Once they hatch they’ll find their way to the ground, where they’ll find and begin feeding on roots for the next 17 years.
Look on branches where cicada laid their eggs.
An illustration of egg nests (Marlatt 1907 Egg Nest Detail):
A nymph on a branch with adult male finger for comparison:
Close up:
Another close up:
The Simon Lab is dedicated to the study of cicadas, in particular, periodical cicadas.
One of the things they study is the development of cicada nymphs while they are underground.
They need your help to collect cicada nymph specimens. You would dig for them, and if you find them, mail them to the Simon Lab. The nymphs will be used for valuable scientific study, so the loss of a few from your yard will not be in vain.
If you are interested in participating in cicada nymph research, visit The Simon Lab Nymph Tracking Project page for more information. You must have had periodical cicadas on your property in past 13 or 17 years to find the nymphs — not including the Brood II area, since those nymphs came out of the ground this year.
Apparently cicadas serenaded the dinosaurs! Entomologist and Mount St. Joseph professor Gene Kritsky shared the news today that cicadas lived as long as 110 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.
A quote from a press release:
New research has documented that cicadas, those noisy insects that sing during the dog days of summer, have been screaming since the time of the dinosaurs.
A fossil of the oldest definitive cicada to be discovered was described by George Poinar, Jr., Ph.D., professor of zoology at Oregon State University and Gene Kritsky, Ph.D., professor of biology, at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati. The cicada, measuring 1.26 mm in length, was named Burmacicada protera.
Read the full Press Release on the MSJ website.
Here is a photo of the ancient Burmacicada protera cicada nymph trapped in amber. Photo credit: George Poinar, Jr., Ph.D.
It looks a lot like a modern-day first-instar cicada nymph:
Photo by Roy Troutman.
Update: Here’s a video news story about Gene’s fossil find.
I need a step-up my fossil collecting hobby. It looks like there’s some places in New Jersey to find fossils. Maybe I’ll find a cicada.
Elias went digging for Magicicada nymphs on 3/21. Here’s a gallery of the nymphs he found.
Here’s a photo of first instar Magicicada nymphs by Roy Troutman:
Here is video of a 1st instar magicicada nymph crawling around taken just minutes after it crawled from its egg sack:
1st instar magicicada nymph from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.
1st instar magicicada nymph in slow motion by Roy:
1st instar magicicada nymph in slow motion from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.
So, what do cicada larvae look like? Technically they’re called nymphs, not larvae. When cicadas progress from one stage of development to another, they molt, rather than pupate. Each stage of development is called an instar. Most, if not all, cicadas go through five instars. The adult phase is the fifth instar.
First, here’s what their eggs look like:
Photo by Roy Troutman.
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. At this point, they’re called first instar nymphs.
Here are some first instar cicadas:
Photo by Roy Troutman.
Here is a first and second instar cicada in the soil:
Photo by Elias Bonaros.
Here is a first, second, third, and fourth instar:
Photo courtesy of Chris Simon.
If you are interested in participating in cicada nymph research, visit The Simon Lab Nymph Tracking Project page for more information. You must have had periodical cicadas on your property in the past 13 or 17 years to find the nymphs — not including the Brood II area since those nymphs came out of the ground this year.