I’m catching up on the photos Roy Troutman has sent me.
Here’s photos from a BBC photoshoot in Mariemont Ohio, taken on May 24th. The photos feature cicada expert Gene Kritsky.
People who have contributed cicada photos, videos or other media and information to cicadamania.com.
June 4, 2008
May 27, 2008
New galleries: Neocicada hieroglyphica, Diceroprocta olympusa and Megatibicen resonans
Thanks to Cicada Mania friend Joe Green we now have 3 new cicada galleries featuring cicadas we didn’t have before one the site: Neocicada hieroglyphica, Diceroprocta olympusa and Megatibicen resonans.
This is a Neocicada hieroglyphica:
Hang in there, we’ll be back to the 17 Year Cicadas tomorrow.
May 26, 2008
Cicada emergence photos from Loveland OH
Roy sent in a batch of photos from the Loveland OH emergence. I’ll post more and larger versions as soon as I’m done celebrating Memorial Day.
May 24, 2008
Florida cicada photos from Joe Green
Here’s a pleasant interruption in the 17-year cicada mania. Joe Green has sent us some cicada photos from Florida. These are from last years season.
Joe says the Neocicada hiroglyphica cicadas have been singing in Florida since April 29th.
May 18, 2008
Roy’s cicadas emerge in captivity
Like Matt Berger, Roy Troutman was able to observe Magicicadas emerge in captivity. Here’s an excellent photo of one of Roy’s cicadas.
May 3, 2008
Matt Berger’s Cicada Experiment Continues
Earlier I wrote about Matt Berger’s experiment to coerce a nymph to emerge as an adult in captivity. The experiment worked.
Here’s the latest pictures. The cicada has assumed its final, black-colored adult form:
April 30, 2008
The first adult Magicicada
Matt Berger was able to coerce a cicada nymph to enter the adult phase (instar) by raising it indoors (where it is warmer). Congratulations to Matt!
I took a Brood XIV nymph i found under a rock about a week ago, put some soil in a pot, poked a cicada sized hole in the soil and let the cicada burrow in. I wanted to see if I could make them emerge early. I put it in my house where it is warm. It worked! I now have a male (im guessing M. cassini) that just emerged from that hole and shed his skin and is now drying. Probably the first Magicicada to emerge all year! Earliest emergence I have ever heard of (even if it was assisted). Thought it might be interesting for Cicadamania.
Here are some pictures!
Here’s the nymph:
Here’s the adult leaving the nymph skin:
Here’s the teneral adult, still white in color (I will turn black soon enough):
April 23, 2008
Cicada nymphs, chimneys and holes
Here are some new photos from Roy Troutman that will give you a good idea of what to look for when searching for signs of cicadas in your yard:
This is a pair of Magicicada nymphs, much like you might find when gardening or turning over logs or stones in your yard.
See those beige globs of soil amongst the leaves and debris? Those are called cicada chimneys. They are a sure sign that a cicada nymph is below the soil, and will emerge in a few days or weeks.
Look closely at this picture and you’ll see holes in the ground. Those are holes that cicada nymphs have dug, and they’re another sure sign of where a cicada will emerge.
On May 1st we’ll start making predictions as to when they’ll start to emerge.
April 12, 2008
Tymbals of the cicada of Genus Dundubia, Bangkok, Thailand
Santisuk Vibul sent us new photos of the tymbals of the cicada of Genus Dundubia, from Bangkok, Thailand.
Here’s a sample:
2008 Cicada Temperature Study
Roy Troutman sent me these photos of temperature loggers that allow cicada experts, like Gene Kritsky, to measure the ground soil temperature, and improve their formulas for predicting Magicicada emergences.
We [Gene Kristsky and Roy Troutman] buried 3 temperature probes & tied one on a tree branch for air readings. The temperature loggers will take a very accurate reading every 10 minutes & after the emergence has started in full swing Gene will dig them up & hook them to a usb cable & download all the data to his laptop for study. He [Gene] is trying to determine the exact temperature that they will emerge so he can fine tune his formula for calculating emergence times.
Last year Gene’s emergence formula calculator (try it!) did a good job of predicting the Brood XIII emergence, and the 2008 temperature study should only improve it.
You might be able to participate in the 2008 cicada temperature study. If you’re interested, contact Gene Kritsky.
