17-year Magicicada Photos by Gwen Elferdink from Brood X 2004.
Category: Magicicada
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:
Categories
My Brood VIII Report
This year Brood VIII periodical cicadas emerged in the Pittsburgh area, and I traveled to see and map them. Unfortunately, I only had 3 days, so I only saw the western side of the Brood.
All things considered — including cool, cloudy weather (which cicadas don’t like as much as hot & sunny) and a very rainy spring — Brood VIII was the least impressive brood I’ve witnessed, in terms of the sheer number of cicadas. I hope no one in the Pittsburgh area takes offense to that statement — Brood VIII is your brood, and you should be proud of it. It is just that as we humans build more and more, and continue to alter the environment, the numbers of cicadas will steadily dwindle. and I think we’re seeing that happen to Brood VIII.
Here’s an impromptu map of the places I saw cicadas:
And a list of places:
- Allegheny Township
- Apollo
- Bethel Township
- Black Lick
- Blairsville
- Blue Spruce Park
- Bolivar
- Boyce Park
- Brush Valley Township
- Center Township
- Crooked Creek Horse Park
- Derry Township
- Elizabeth
- Hempfield Township
- Home
- Homer City
- Hoodlebug Trail
- Indiana
- Keystone State Park
- Ligonier
- New Alexandria
- New Florence
- Parks Township
- Pine Ridge Park
- Rayne Township
- Round Hill Park
- St Clair Township
- Stahlstown
- Two Lick Creek Dam
- Unity
- Washington Township
- West Wheatfield Township
- White Township
- Yellow Creek State Park
And some photos:
Video of the amazing cicada that was just a head.
A very cool Brood VIII cicada frisbee:
Cicada Safari App Frequently Asked Questions:
Who created the Cicada Safari app?
Gene Kritsky working with the Center for IT Engagement at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati.
Who do I speak to when the app is not working?
Probably Gene Kritsky and the Center for IT Engagement is your best route. Be polite. The app has 250,000 users and only a handful of people to approve cicada sightings.
Who is Gene Kritsky?
Gene is the Charles Lester Marlatt of the 21st century. Gene is a periodical cicada expert, researcher & professor. Buy his latest book, Periodical Cicadas: The Brood X Edition, now.
How do I download the app for my Apple or Android device?
Choose wisely: Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
How many people have downloaded the app?
As of June 1st 2021, over 250,000 people have downloaded the app.
Can I access the app data from a web browser?
Yes, you can! See a map of sightings from the Cicada Safari app.
Does the app have a website?
Of course the app has a website. Here’s the website.
What can I do with the app?
Judging by screenshots of the app, it looks like you can 1) identify cicadas, 2) take a photo and share it, 3) map the location where you found it, 4) compete with other cicada scientists for the most cicadas found. Looks that way at least. The app lets you submit cicadas photos of any species.
I’m not in the United States, so what app should I use instead?
Try the iNaturalist apps.
I don’t want to use an app. Can I send reports via email?
Not that I know of, but you can always ask Gene Kritsky. Feel free to leave a comment on this website or the Facebook Cicada Discussion Group.
Is Cicada Mania affiliated with the Cicada Safari app?
Cicada Mania is not affiliated with the Cicada Safari app. Cicada Mania is not paid to endorse or promote it. We promote it because we like it.
Brood VIII will next emerge in 2036.
Periodical cicada Brood VIII (Eight) has emerged in 2019 in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and the tip of the northern panhandle of West Virginia, as well as Oklahoma (which was unexpected). The last time this brood emerged was in 2002.
- Look out for browning of leaves aka “flagging”, and in about a month, look for tiny cicada nymphs on branches where eggs were laid. You can still use the Cicada Safari App to report Flagging. It is available for iPhones/iOS and Android phones.
- If you’re on Facebook, there’s a Brood VIII Group for discussion.
- Read about my trip to see Brood VIII
What, when, where, and why:
What:
- Millions of these:
- Cicada insects with a 17-year life cycle.
- Some people call them “locusts” but they’re really cicadas.
- Which species: All three 17-year species, Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini and Magicicada septendecula. How to tell the difference between the species.
- NOT the green ones that arrive annually.
When: Typically beginning in mid-May and ending in late June. These cicadas will begin to emerge approximately when the soil 8" beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence.
Other tips: these cicadas will emerge after the trees have grown leaves, and, by my own observation, around the same time Iris flowers bloom.
Where:
Cicadas @ UCONN has the most up to date maps, including this modernized Google map.
You can report cicada sightings using the Cicada Safari App, available for iPhones/iOS and Android phones. The app helps you identify periodical cicada species, take photos and add your findings to a map.
- Pennsylvania Counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Lawrence, Venango, Washington, Westmoreland.
- Pennsylvania Cities: Aliquippa, Allegheny Township, Apollo, Baden, Beaver, Belle Vernon, Bethel Township, Black Lick, Blairsville, Bolivar, Brush Valley Township, Burgettstown, Center Township, Cheswick, Chippewa, Cranberry, Derry Township, Economy Boro, Elizabeth, Ellwood City, Fawn Township, Finleyville, Freedom, Gilpin, Greensburg, Harmony, Hempfield Township, Home, Homer City, Hopewell, Indiana, Leet Township, Ligonier, Midland, Murrysville, Natrona Heights, New Alexandria, New Brighton, New Florence, Parks Township, Pittsburgh, Rayne Township, Rector, Robinson Township, Rochester, Round Hill Park, Sewickley, Shelocta, St Clair Township, Stahlstown, Unity, Washington Township, West Deer, West Wheatfield Township, White Township, and more.
- Pennsylvania parks: Keystone State Park, Blue Spruce Park, Boyce Park, Crooked Creek Horse Park, Hoodlebug Trail, Pine Ridge Park, Yellow Creek State Park
- Ohio Counties: Columbiana, Mahoning. Trumbull, Ashtabula.
- Ohio Cities: Boardman, Calcutta, East Liverpool, Girard, Glenmoor, Lisbon, Mineral Ridge, New Waterford, Toronto, Wellsville, Youngstown, and more.
- West Virginia Counties: Hancock
- West Virginia Cities: Weirton, and more.
- West Virginia parks: Tomlinson Run State Park
- Oklahoma: Around Lawton, and north of Tulsa. Read this article.
More Location Tips:
- City data comes from 2002 reports.
- Brood VIII does overlap with Brood V (which emerged 3 years ago in 2016). Most of Brood VIII is east of V.
- As a general rule, if you experienced Brood V in 2016, or did not experience Brood VIII in 2002, you won’t experience them this year.
- Not sure? Ask someone in your community who lived there 17 years ago.
Visually, the cities mentioned above look like this:
Why: Why do they emerge in massive numbers every 17-years? In a nutshell, the long life cycle has helped them avoid gaining a specific above-ground predator, and the massive numbers allow them to satiate predators in general, allowing enough to survive and reproduce.
Bonus content:
Video of newly emerged periodical cicada nymphs:
Magicicada cicada nymph mania from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.
More facts and fun:
- Use the correct image when talking about these cicadas
- Use the Periodical Cicada Emergence Checklist for the Maximum Magicicada Experience
- All cicada questions that are frequently asked.
- A video to help you tell the difference between the species
- The 17 Most Interesting Periodical cicada facts
1907 Map from Marlatt, C.L.. 1907. The periodical cicada. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology.
A new paper about periodical cicadas! View it: https://peerj.com/articles/5282/
“The periodical cicada four-year acceleration hypothesis revisited and the polyphyletic nature of Brood V, including an updated crowd-source enhanced map (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada)”
Authors: John R. Cooley, Nidia Arguedas, Elias Bonaros, Gerry Bunker, Stephen M. Chiswell, Annette DeGiovine, Marten Edwards, Diane Hassanieh, Diler Haji, John Knox, Gene Kritsky, Carolyn Mills, Dan Mozgai, Roy Troutman, John Zyla, Hiroki Hasegawa, Teiji Sota, Jin Yoshimura, and Chris Simon.
Abstract:
The periodical cicadas of North America (Magicicada spp.) are well-known for their long life cycles of 13 and 17 years and their mass synchronized emergences. Although periodical cicada life cycles are relatively strict, the biogeographic patterns of periodical cicada broods, or year-classes, indicate that they must undergo some degree of life cycle switching. We present a new map of periodical cicada Brood V, which emerged in 2016, and demonstrate that it consists of at least four distinct parts that span an area in the United States stretching from Ohio to Long Island. We discuss mtDNA haplotype variation in this brood in relation to other periodical cicada broods, noting that different parts of this brood appear to have different origins. We use this information to refine a hypothesis for the formation of periodical cicada broods by 1- and 4-year life cycle jumps.
Update (July 2018): A company called Meat Maniac sells cicadas in a can. Don’t know which species, but they have a “nutty flavor”.
Also, send me a box of these cicadas from China… um, I mean Chinese City Tells Citizens to Fight Bug Infestation By Eating Them.
Also, read this amazing story about how Brood VII cicadas helped kept the Onondaga Nation alive during a time of famine.
The original article from 2006:
[WARNING:] Cicadas, 17-year cicadas at least, are well-known bioaccumulators of mercury. If consuming mercury is a concern, you should not eat cicadas.
Dogs, cats, squirrels, fish, and people can’t stop eating cicadas. Are they crazy, or “crazy like a fox”? (Foxes will eat them too.)
Pets and other domesticated animals
People want to know: “is it safe for my pets to eat cicadas”. The truth is in most cases your pets will be fine if they eat a few cicadas, however, you still need to be cautious and keep a close eye on your pets. Watch them for odd behavior, and don’t let them gorge themselves. Be cautious: the Humane Society has warned: “Cicadas Dangerous to Pets” [the original link is gone].
Pet-related concerns:
- Pets can choke on the rigid wings and other hard body parts of the cicadas.
- Pets will gorge themselves on cicadas, and possibly become ill and vomit.
- Pets who consume cicadas sprayed with copious amounts of pesticide can and will die.
- Pets might have an allergic reaction to the cicadas just as people do.
Bottom line: play it safe, and don’t let your pets eat cicadas if you can help it.
People:
Whether they’re curious, hungry, or doing it for the shock value, people are eating cicadas. Asian peoples have eaten cicadas for centuries, and there are records of Native Americans eating cicadas. People joke that they’re Atkins friendly [also no gluten]. I’ve heard they taste like asparagus, popcorn, minty shrimp, and piney shrimp — YUMMY PINE.
A man in Bloomington Indiana had an allergic reaction to cicadas after eating 30. He was also allergic to seafood — both cicadas and shrimps are arthropods so this makes sense.
[Note to self, “Do it, Dan, don’t be a wimp!”]
People related concerns:
- Cicadas are well known bioaccumulators of mercury.
- You could choke on their hard body parts.
- You could have an allergic reaction. If you’re allergic to seafood, don’t think about eating them.
- Do you really want to eat something that’s been marinating in lawn fertilizers,
pesticides and other chemicals for the past 17 years? - If you get the gout, it makes sense to avoid them.
People related links:
- National Geographic: National Geographic News :Low-Fat, High Protein Cicadas: New Health Snack
- Stephanie Bailey’s Internet insect cookbook has tips on how to prepare insects for human consumption! [note that the link now goes to an article by Stephanie about eating insects in general.]
Bottom line: You’re not a contestant on Fear Factor [a reality TV show in the 00s]. Why eat cicadas when you can choose from many of the fine menu choices at Applebees [a chain restaurant]?
Fish, turkeys, squirrels and everything else
If a creature has a mouth or some other mechanism to digest cicadas, it likely will try to eat them. Cicadas make great fish bait. Squirrels (yes, they’re nuts for cicadas too), birds, possums, raccoons, foxes, other insects, fungi… they all love cicadas.
Bottom line: let nature do the dirty work and clean your yard one bite at a time.
Tom, Cicada Gormandize:
Brood VII will return in 2035.
Update (June 17th): I just got back from Onondaga county and I can report that the emergence is in full swing. Lots of chorusing and mating. The best locations are around the Onondaga Nation reservation. If you visit, please do not trespass into the reservation — there are plenty of cicadas outside of it. John Cooley of Cicadas @ UCONN said there are also reports of cicadas in the Green Lakes State Park.
Here’s a video montage:
And a gallery:
Brood VII Magicicada septendecim 2018 Syracuse.
About Brood VII
Periodical cicadas (Magicicada septendecim, people call them “locusts”) will emerge in the Finger Lakes area of New York state in 2018.
This group of cicadas is called Brood VII (7) and is known as the Onondaga Brood. This brood is shrinking, and will likely be the next periodical cicada brood to go extinct
A pair of Magicicada septendecim:
More details:
- What: Brood VII is the smallest periodical cicada brood in the U.S., and is isolated in the Finger Lakes area of New York State. Only one species of cicada belongs to the brood: Magicicada septendecim (click link for sounds, video). This cicada has a 17-year life cycle. Sadly, Brood VII will likely be the next Brood to go extinct.
- When: June, but perhaps May if it’s a very warm year. Magicicada cicadas typically emerge in the spring, once the soil underground where they live reaches approximately 64 degrees Faraihneght.
- Where: the Finger Lakes area of NY State.
- Where they appeared (last) in 2001: Onondaga and Livingston.
- The following counties have had these cicadas in the distant past: Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Onondaga, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wyoming, York.
- The Onondaga Nation survived starvation one year by eating these cicadas
Further reading / viewing / listening:
- Brood VII on Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org). Includes the best map.
- Learn more about Periodical Cicadas, including what to look for before they emerge and how to figure out if they’ll emerge in your town.
- Cicada Frequently Asked Questions
- Periodical cicada emergence checklist
- The 17 most interesting facts about 17 year cicadas
Papers about Brood VII
- The Historical Contraction of Periodical Cicada Brood Vii (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada by John R. Cooley, David C. Marshall and Chris Simon. J. New York Entomol. Soc. 112(2—3):198—204, 2004.
- Decrease in Geographic Range of the Finger Lakes Brood(Brood Vii) of the Periodical Cicada (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada Spp.) by Cole Gilbert and Carolyn Klass. J. New York Entomol. Soc. 114(1—2):78—85, 2006.
1907 Map Marlatt, C.L.. 1907. The periodical cicada. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology.
Gene Kritsky, author of Periodical Cicadas. The Plague and the Puzzle, let us know that many of what are likely Brood X cicada stragglers have emerged around the Mount St. Joseph University campus, in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s likely that cicadas are emerging elsewhere in the Cincinnati area.
This is significant because Brood X cicadas should not emerge until 2021.
This is a photo of a Magicicada periodical cicada emerging on the MSJ campus, courtesy of Gene:
Quick facts:
- Gene Kritsky is a periodical cicada expert and Dean of the School of Behavioral and Natural Sciences and Professor and of Biology at Mount St. Joseph University. Read more.
- Brood X is a massive brood of Magicicada (the genus) periodical (the lifecycle type) cicadas that are set to emerge in 2021 in 15 states.
- A straggler is a periodical cicada that emerges off-schedule, often a few years before or after the rest of its Brood.
Update: in addition, two Brood X stragglers were reported on 5/21 in Bloomington, Indiana (thanks Rhonda and Leah).
Original post:
Cicada researcher John Cooley has received the first cicada sighting of the year — a Brood XXIII straggler in western Tennessee!! 3 years later than expected.
Just received the first #cicada report of the season… not #BroodVII which is expected, but a 3- year late Brood XXIII cicada from western TN. The cicada season is starting! #uconneeb https://t.co/hIYPH1so8W
— Team Cicada (@Magicicada1317) May 17, 2018
So, what’s a straggler? A straggler is a periodical cicada that emerges sooner or later than it is expected to emerge. In this case, a cicada with a 13-year lifecycle emerged in 16 years — 3 years off.