Cicada Mania

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

Genera of cicadas.

April 23, 2012

The Brood I Cicada Emergence Has Begun

Filed under: Brood I | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 6:51 pm

The Brood I Cicada emergence has begun early, as predicted, due to the warm weather in recent weeks. The first Brood I cicadas were spotted in Roanoke, Virginia. See our Cicada Mania Facebook Page for a photo and the person who found them. Unfortunately, the cold weather seems to have hurt the early emerging cicadas.

First we had unnaturally warm weather, causing the cicadas to emerge early, and right when they start to emerge: cold, wet weather. This is bittersweet news.

BTW,

Here’s a list of counties where they should emerge:
Augusta
Bath
Bedford
Botetourt
Grant
Page
Pendleton
Rockbridge
Rockingham

April 1, 2012

Cicadas and Prime Numbers

Filed under: Anatomy | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 8:51 pm

Last week io9 published an article titled Why do cicadas know prime numbers? The gist of the article is that cicadas developed long, prime-numbered, periodical life cycles to avoid gaining a predator that can synch up with the cicadas.

It’s an interesting read, but it’s a little thin on facts and references. Here is part of what the article is missing:

Only seven out of the hundreds of species of cicadas have 13 or 17-year life cycles, and they all belong to the genus Magicicada. Three species of cicadas have 17-year life cycles: M. septendecim, M. cassini, and M. septendecula. Four species of cicadas have 13-year life cycles: M. neotredecim, M. tredecim, M. tredecassini and M. tredecula. These are the periodical cicadas Stephen Jay Gould wrote about.

As one proof of the theory, there isn’t a wasp that specifically predates Magicicadas (the genus of cicadas with long, prime-numbered life cycles), but there is a Cicada Killer Wasp that predates Tibicen cicadas, which have shorter life cycles and emerge every year.

Although no animal predator has figured out their 17 & 13-year life cycle, one life form has: the Massospora cicadina fungus.

The book in which Stephen Jay Gould theorized about prime numbers and periodical cicadas is Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History. You can search through the book in Google Book Search, or just buy a copy (if you’re interested). I think I paid a cent for my copy (used).

Other species of cicadas also have life cycles of a prime number of years, but some do not. The Chremistica ribhoi is known for four-year life cycles, which coincide with the Fifa World Cup (association football event). The Raiateana knowlesi of Fiji has an 8 year life cycle.

Not all cicadas are periodical cicadas; the vast majority of cicada species appear every year even though their life cycles are longer than one year.

If you want to delve deeper into the subject of periodical cicadas and prime numbers, search for the paper Evolution of Periodicity in Periodical Cicadas by Nicolas Lehmann-Ziebarth et al.

This image is meant to be funny, but it’s a bit misleading…
A cicada counting prime numbers
It’s likely that periodical cicadas are counting in units of 4. 4+4+4+1 = 13. 4+4+4+4+1 = 17.

Prof. Douglas Galvao of the State University of Campinas has written a paper titled Emergence of Prime Numbers as the Result of Evolutionary Strategy. Download his paper from Cicada Mania.

Notes:

  • Cicadas do not incubate underground. Cicada eggs hatch above ground; typically in grooves in the stems of plants created by female cicadas.
  • Cicadas rarely sing at night. In rare circumstances, like in the presence of artificial light, they will sing at night. If you hear an insect at night it is likely a cricket or katydid (or frog).
  • Here’s another article with a practical application for web design called The Cicada Principle and Why It Matters to Web Designers.
  • Mathematical “locusts” an mathematical explanation of the cicadas and prime numbers phenomenon.

March 11, 2012

Is it hot enough for cicadas yet?

Filed under: Brood I | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 9:48 am

Update (4/23): The first Brood I emergence (that we heard of) occurred in Roanoke, Virginia. Unfortunately, the sudden cold, wet weather seems to have hurt the early emerging cicadas.

The rest of this post was originally from March 11th, 2012:

Next week temperatures are forecasted to reach 79°F in the parts of Virginia, where Brood I Magicicadas are expected to emerge this year. That’s hot for March, but is it hot enough for the cicadas? Periodical cicadas typically emerge when the soil 8″ below the surface reaches 64°F. Although temperatures will be in the 70’s all week, that might not be enough to heat the soil to the necessary temperature, but stranger things have happened.

Last year Brood XIX Magicicada started emerging in Abbeville County, South Carolina after only 3 days of temperatures in the 70s.

My guess is temperatures won’t heat the soil enough to launch a full-blown emergence, but a few cicadas will emerge in the warmest and sunniest areas. Keep on the look out. Take photos and video. Report sightings to magicicada.org. Check the Magiciciada database for locations; places like Rockbridge, Page, Botetourt, and Bath counties…

hot under the exoskeleton

December 26, 2011

Brood I cicadas will emerge in Virginia and West Virginia in 2012

Filed under: Brood I | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 9:51 am

The Magicicada periodical cicadas belonging to Brood I (one) will emerge in western Virginia and eastern West Virginia in the spring of 2012. Brood I cicadas have a 17-year life cycle. Three species of periodical cicada will emerge: Magicicada cassini, Magicicada septendecim, and Magicicada septendecula.

Brood I is also called the Blue Ridge brood because the emergence occurs in the Blue Ridge Highlands area. Brood I has historically emerged along RT 81 in Virginia, parts of George Washington National Forest, Jefferson National Forest, and around the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area in West Virginia. Visit the Brood I page on Magiciada.org for more information and maps.

Get ready…

Magicicada septendecim

November 17, 2011

How to say cicada around the world

Filed under: FAQs | Genera — Dan @ 6:06 am

Ever wonder how people say “cicada” around the world. According to Google Translate, here’s how to say “cicada” in 44 different languages.

This page is a little messed up at the moment. Check back later.

Afrikaans: sonbesie
Albanian: gjinkallë
Armenian: ts’ikada (ցիկադա)
Belarusian: cykady (цыкады)
Bengali: Ucciṇṛē (উচ্চিংড়ে)
Bulgarian: tsikada (цикада)
Catalan: cigala
Chinese: Chán (蟬)
Croatian: cvrčak
Czech: cikáda
Dutch: cicade
Estonian: tsikaad
Filipino: kuliglig
Finnish: laulukaskas
French: cigale
Galician: cigarra
German: Zikade
Greek: tzitzíki (τζιτζίκι)
Gujarati: Tīḍa (તીડ)
Haitian Creole: sigal
Hindi: Sikāḍā (सिकाडा)
Hungarian: kabóca
Indonesian: tonggeret
Italian: cicala
Japanese: Semi (セミ)
Kannada: Rekkeya (ರೆಕ್ಕೆಯ)
Korean: maemi (매미)
Latvian: cikāde
Macedonian: cikada (цикада)
Malay: Cengkerik
Polish: cykada
Portuguese: cigarra
Romanian: greier
Russian: tsikada (цикада)
Serbian: cikada (цикада)
Slovak: Cikada
Slovenian: Cvrčak
Spanish: cigarra, chicharra
Swedish: cikada
Tamil: Cil vaṇṭu (சில் வண்டு)
Thai: Cạkcạ̀n (จักจั่น)
Turkish: ağustosböceği
Ukrainian: tsykada (цикада)
Vietnamese: con ve sầu

Last edited 3/29/2021.

September 4, 2011

Tibicen auletes from North Carolina

Filed under: Annual | Megatibicen | Tibicen — Tags: — Dan @ 8:00 am

Here’s a Tibicen auletes found in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by my friend Erin Dickinson. The T. auletes is also known as Northern Dusk Singing cicada. It can be found in most Southern states, IL, IN, MI, OH, MD, DE, NJ and CT.

The Tibicen auletes is the largest species of the Tibicen cicadas (largest in terms of physical size). Visit Insect Singers to hear its song.

Neotibicen auletes found in Winston-Salem, NC by Erin Dickinson. 2011.

View both Tibicen auletes photos.

August 7, 2011

Walker’s Cicada aka Megatibicen pronotalis (aka T. walkeri, T. marginalis)

Filed under: Annual | Roy Troutman | Tibicen — Tags: — Dan @ 7:24 pm

Roy Troutman sent us these amazing photos of a female Walker’s Cicada aka Megatibicen pronotalis (aka T. walkeri, T. marginalis) taken in Batavia, Ohio. As you can guess by the various akas (also known as), the Megatibicen pronotalis has been known by several species names in the past. Sometimes it takes cicada researchers a while to figure out that two different species are the same species (which is probably the case here). Tibicen pronotalis also sounds exactly like another species of Tibicen: Megatibicen dealbatus. The major difference between the M. pronotalis and the M. dealbatus is the M. dealbatus has more pruinose than the M. pronotalis. Pruinose is the white, chalky substance that appears on the bodies of cicadas.

Megatibicen pronotalis photo by Roy Troutman, taken in Batavia, Ohio

Megatibicen pronotalis photo by Roy Troutman, taken in Batavia, Ohio

Megatibicen pronotalis photo by Roy Troutman, taken in Batavia, Ohio

Megatibicen pronotalis photo by Roy Troutman, taken in Batavia, Ohio

Walker’s Cicada is found in 18 mid-western and southern states. Read more about this pretty cicada on Bug Guide, and listen to its song on Insect Singers.

June 26, 2011

It’s the season for annual cicadas

Filed under: Annual | Tibicen | Video — Dan @ 8:48 pm

The Brood XIX (and Brood IV stragglers) are all but gone, but annual species of cicadas are emerging around the United States right now. The various annual species of cicadas differ from periodical cicadas in many ways. Annual cicadas emerge in limited numbers every year, they are not organized into broods, they tend to be timid and camouflaged to match their environment, and while their life cycles are longer than a year, they are not as long as 13 or 17 years.

The most common annual cicada east of the Rockies is probably the various species of the Tibicen genus. There are also cicadas belonging to the Diceroprocta, Neocicada, and Okanagana genera out and about now.

Use the Insect Singers website to help match the species to their song.

Eclosing Tibicen tibicen by Dan from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.

June 12, 2011

Best Cicada News of the Week: Cicada Ice Cream?!

Filed under: Brood XIX | Cicada Arts | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 10:30 am

Brood XIX News

You can see the latest 500 cicada sightings on magicicada.org. Visit their “2011 Brood XIX sightings” map. The latest reports are from Illinois and Missouri.

The latest Science Cabaret Podcast is about cicadas, and in particular, the relationship of birds and cicadas. The podcast features Dr. Walt Koenig and is hosted by Dr. Holly.

I enjoyed this blog post Kingdom of the Cicadas. It features photos and videos of the emergence from Joplin, Missouri.

Cicada Ice Cream

There were a lot of news stories about Sparky’s Ice Cream shop in Columbia, Missouri, and their cicada ice cream. After reading dozens of articles, it seems that they only made one batch, and the local health official(s) only advised them not to make the ice cream, but did not specifically or legally stop them from making it.

Related… cicada pie, pizza and tacos courtesy of the University of Maryland’s PDF cookbook. The cookbook is circa 2004 (Brood X) but they still work.

(more…)

June 5, 2011

Best Brood XIX Cicada News of the Week for May 29-June 4

Filed under: Brood XIX | Magicicada — Dan @ 8:39 am

Brood XIX emergence update

Looking at the Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) emergence map it appears that the cicadas have emerged everywhere they’re expected to emerge.

The next question is, when will they be gone? Local emergences typically last between four to six weeks, starting from the first emerging nymph, to the last dead cicada. I wouldn’t expect any cicadas around today to be around on Independence Day. Their corpses will be around though – so don’t forget to rake them up.

White Eyed Cicada Contest

The White Eyed Cicada Contest is over and 10 people won I Love Cicada pins. Congratulations to Joey Simmons of Nashville, TN, Meagan Lang of Nashville, TN, Serena Cochrane of Gerald MO, Melissa Han of Nashville TN, Jane and Evan Skinner of Troy MO, Phyllis Rice of Poplar Bluff MO, Jack Willey of Nashville TN, Chris Lowry of Nashville TN, Nathan Voss of Spring Hill TN, and Paul Stuve of Columbia, MO.

white eyed Magicicada from 2011

Cicada Videos

The Kenyon Media Group produced this video that demonstrates the cicada’s affinity for the sound of power tools. Educational and hilarious. You must watch it. Cicadas are attracted to the sound of power tools and lawn maintenance equipment because they think the sound is coming from other cicadas.

Do you like cicada song parodies? This song parodies Faith Hill’s song Breathe but it’s called Breed. Not sure who the singer is, but she’s fantastic.

This news report from CBS is pretty good, as far as cicada news reports go. It features John Cooley of Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org), and Elias Bonaros‘ live Magicicada collection. “Betty Nguyen reports from Simpson, Ill on the return of cicadas – as part of their normal, 13-year cycle – and a young boy’s fascination with the bug”. Sorry no embedded video.

Cicada Humor

Rest in Peace Nashville Cicada on Twitter. @TNCicada – his corpse is rotten, but he won’t be soon forgotten.

True story: someone called the police on the cicadas. Who drops a dime on a decim?

Eating Cicadas

Sadly, Sparky’s Ice Cream has sold out of their cicada flavored ice cream.

The art of eating cicadas. Just don’t choke on them.

Cicada Tea! I pity the person who drinks cicada tea!

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