Cicada Mania

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

Genera of cicadas.

March 9, 2015

2015 Periodical Cicada Emergences

Filed under: Brood IV | Brood XXIII | Magicicada | Periodical Stragglers — Dan @ 1:06 am

There will be two major periodical cicada emergences in 2015. We’re less that 2 months away!

2015 BROOD IV AND XXIII

Brood XXIII, the Lower Mississippi Valley brood:

This brood of 13 year Magicicada will emerge in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana. Brood XXIII features all four 13 year Magicicada species M. tredecim, M. neotredecim, M. tredecassini and M. tredecula.

When they’ll emerge depends on the weather. A cool spring will mean the emergences will start later in the spring. Regardless of the weather, the emergences will begin in the Southern-most states, sometime in late April or early to mid May.

Brood XXIII should, depending on the weather, start emerging in less than two months; some time in late April in Louisiana.

Brood IV, the Kansan Brood:

This brood of 17 year Magicicada will emerge in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. Brood VI features all three 17 year Magicicada species M. septendecim, M. cassini, and M. septendecula.

Brood IV should start emerging in early May.

Brood IV and XXIII won’t emerge in the same year again until the year 2236. The only state that features both Brood XXIII & IV is Missouri, but the areas where they emerge do not overlap.

Stragglers:

The best bet for Stragglers will be Brood VIII (17 year cicadas emerging 4 years early) & XIX (13 year cicadas emerging 4 years late). There is also a chance for III (17yr/1 year late), V (17yr/1 year early), and XXII (13yr/1 year late). Visit our brood page, to see the states where these stragglers might emerge.


February 23, 2015

Photos of Cicadas of New Zealand

Filed under: Amphipsalta | Kikihia | Maoricicada | New Zealand — Dan @ 8:23 pm

Flickr.com is an excellent source of cicada photos, and it is where I go for cicada photos from New Zealand. This is a sample of the cicada photos you will find on Flickr.com.

The colorful Amphipsalta zealandica:

Chorus Cicada or Kihikihi
Photo by Sid Mosdell. Auckland New Zealand. CC BY 2.0.

Amphipsalta zelandica (ii)
Photo by Nuytsia@Tas. Punakaiki, Paporoa National Park, New Zealand. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Members of the genus Kikihia:

the singing cicada
Photo by Rosino. Auckland, New Zealand. CC BY-SA 2.0.

cicada III
Photo by aliceskr. New Zealand. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Members of the genus Maoricicada:

JJS_0101
Photos by Jon Sullivan. Auckland, New Zealand. CC BY-NC 2.0.

JJS_0068 2
Photo by Jon Sullivan. Auckland, New Zealand. CC BY-NC 2.0.

Visit NEW ZEALAND CICADAS (HEMIPTERA: CICADIDAE): A VIRTUAL IDENTIFICATION GUIDE for in-depth information about the cicadas of New Zealand.

February 5, 2015

Visualizing all periodical cicada broods

Isn’t this a lovely picture (updated with colors sorted)?

All Broods

This image represents the combined range of all Magicicada periodical cicada broods, including the extinct Broods XI (last recorded in Connecticut) and XXI (last recorded in Florida).

To produce this image, I visited John Cooley’s Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) Cicada Geospacial Data Clearinghouse and downloaded the Shapefile of Magicicada broods. Then I used the computer program QGIS to change the Shapefile to a KML file, and then I opened the file in Google Earth. Credit goes to John for pulling the data together into the Shapefile.

I manually edited the KML file to try to give each Brood a different color.

An interesting area is Fredrick County, where 5 different broods seem to exist (or have existed) at once.
Fredrick County VA

Peach = Brood I
Green = Brood II
Purple = Brood V
Cyan = Brood X
Red = Brood XIV

It’s also interesting that four of the broods are separated by four years: X, XIV, I, V.

January 20, 2015

Green Grocer Merch

Filed under: Australia | Cicada Mania | Cyclochila — Dan @ 6:23 am

Green Grocer

I felt bad about always using an illustration of North American cicadas, so I made a Green Grocer cicada for Australian fans.

Get this image on a shirt, mug or even a pillow case via CafePress (the mugs are the most affordable).

December 17, 2014

Behold a molting Neotibicen

Filed under: Cryptotympanini | Neotibicen | Tibicen — Tags: — Dan @ 5:48 am

Walter Abington sent us this series of photographs of a molting Neotibicen cicada. I believe the cicada is a Tibicen pruinosus based on this guide to identifying teneral Neotibicen.

November 20, 2014

Magicicada cassini singing on hand

Filed under: Brood XIV | Magicicada | Roy Troutman | Sounds | Video — Tags: — Dan @ 8:48 am

From Roy Troutman: “I shot a video back in 1991 of a 17 year Magicicada cassini singing right on my hand.”

Magicicada cassini singing on hand from Roy Troutman.

The excavation skills of cicadas

Filed under: Anatomy | Magicicada | Roy Troutman — Dan @ 8:01 am

Cicadas spend most of their lives, as nymphs, underground. The large forelegs of cicada nymphs are adapted to digging through soil.

cicada foreleg
Image from The Periodical Cicada: An Account of Cicada Septendecim, Its Natural Enemies and the Means of Preventing Its Injury by C.L. Marlatt. 1898.

These videos demonstrate Magicicada nymphs digging through soil.

Magicicada nymph excavating tunnel by Roy

This magicicada nymph is excavating a make shift tunnel sandwiched between two pieces of plexiglass.:

Magicicada nymph emerging from burrow by Roy

Magicicada nymph emerging from burrow from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.

White eyed magicicada by Roy Troutman

Filed under: Eye Color | Magicicada | Periodical | Roy Troutman | Video — Dan @ 7:07 am

Here is a video of a rare white eyed magicicada. This is from a gene mutation that strepps the color from the cicadas eyes & also wings to some extent.

White eyed magicicada from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.

Watch a Tibicen nymph emerge from the ground

Filed under: Roy Troutman | Tibicen | Video — Dan @ 5:38 am

This video by Roy Troutman shows a Tibicen cicada nymph emerge from the ground.

Annual cicada nymph emerging from burrow. from Roy Troutman.

A Tibicen cicada breathing

Filed under: Anatomy | Roy Troutman | Tibicen | Video — Dan @ 5:31 am

Cicadas breathe through apertures along the side of their body called spiracles. This video of a Tibicen by Roy Troutman shows the opening and closing of a spiracle.

Adult Cicada breathing from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.

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