Life Cycle - Cicada Mania

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

Cicadas have three types of life cycles: annual, periodical, proto-periodical.

January 5, 2020

Brood IX (9) will emerge in 2020 in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia

Filed under: Brood IX,Magicicada,Periodical — Dan @ 1:01 am

Periodical cicada Brood IX (9) will emerge in the spring of 2020 in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The last time this brood emerged was in 2003.

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 (Heath, 1968). 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:

Virginia municipalities: Blacksburg, Bland, Callands, Christiansburg, Covington, Dry Pond, Ferrum, Martinsville, Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, and more.
Virginia counties: Allegheny, Bland, Franklin, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Roanoke.
North Carolina municipalities: Chestnut Hill, Ennice, Francisco, Hays, Kernersville, McGrady, Millers Creek, Mt Airy, North Wilkesboro, Purlear, Thurmond, Westfield, and more.
North Carolina counties: Ashe, Alleghany, Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes.
West Virginia municipalities: Camp Creek , Elmhurst, Hinton, Jumping Branch, Spanishburg, and more.
West Virginia counties: Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe, Pocahontas, Summers.

Maps, Apps, and Tips:

Magicicada.org has the most up to date maps.
📱 The Cicada Safari App is available for Android and Apple devices. Use it to see where people are finding cicadas, and to report your own sightings.
Historical county data is from the Cicada Central Periodical Cicada Record Database. Cities come from May 2003 reports and June 2003 reports.
Not sure? Ask someone in your community who lived there 17 years ago.

More facts and fun:

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August 7, 2019

Check for first instar periodical cicada nymphs

Filed under: Magicicada,Nymphs,Periodical — Dan @ 4:26 am

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 illustraition of egg nests:

A nymph on a branch with adult male finger for comparison:
Periodical Cicada Nymph

Close up:
Periodical Cicada Nymph

Another close up:
Periodical Cicada Nymph

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June 24, 2019

Annual Cicada Season in the U.S.A.

Filed under: Annual — Dan @ 1:01 am

Annual cicada species are those that arrive every year (annually). In the U.S.A., each continental state has at least 4 species of cicadas. California as over 80.

Wonder which annual cicadas are in your area? Try our U.S.A. & Canada Cicada Search search tool. If you’re outside the U.S.A., start your search here.

Some guides for identifying Neotibicen, a common genus of cicadas in North America:

Three other excellent resources include: iNaturalist (enter a cicada name, and find out when people find them), BugGuide (USA), and Insect Singers (for sounds).

Here are a small portion of the species that can be found in the USA:

Diceroprocta apache Common Name: Citrus Cicada Locations: AZ, CA, CO, NV, UT When: June-September. Peaks in July.	Diceroprocta olympusa Common Name: Olympic Scrub Cicada Locations: AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC When: June-August. Peaks in August.	Neocicada hieroglyphica Common Name: Hieroglyphic Cicada Locations: AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MS, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA When: May-August. Peaks in June.
Okanagana bella Common Name: Mountain Cicada Locations: AB, AZ, BC, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY When: June-July. Peaks in June.	Okanagana rimosa Common Name: Say’s Cicada Locations: AB, BC, CA, CT, ID, IL, IN, IA, ME, MB, MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NV, NB, NH, NJ, NY, ND, OH, ON, OR, PA, QC, SD, UT, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY When: May-July. Peak in June.	Neotibicen superbus Common Name: Superb Dog-Day Cicada Locations: AR, KS, LA, MO, NM, OK, TX When: June-August. Peak in July.
Neotibicen dorsatus Common Name: Bush Cicada or Grand Western or Giant Grassland Cicada Locations: AR, CO, ID, IL, IA, KS, MO, MT, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WY When: July-September. Peaks in August.	Cicadettana calliope Common Name: Southern Grass Cicada Locations: AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MS, MO, NE, NC, OH, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA When: May-August, peaking in July.	Neotibicen pruinosus Common Name: Scissor(s) Grinder Locations: AL, AR, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, WV, WI When: June-October. Peak in August.

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June 21, 2019

My Brood VIII Report

Filed under: Brood VIII,Magicicada,Periodical — Dan @ 7:54 pm

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.

Mating Magicicada septendecim

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:

Brood VIII Mapping

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:

Female Magicicada septendecim

Male Magicicada septendecim

Just a head

Video of the amazing cicada that was just a head.

A very cool Brood VIII cicada frisbee:

Cicada Frisbee

Comments (6)

May 11, 2019

2019 Periodical Cicada Stragglers – Expect Them

Filed under: Periodical Stragglers — Dan @ 9:06 am

Where is everyone?

We expect some periodical cicadas to emerge earlier and later than expected this year:

Members of Brood IV, the Kansan Brood, should emerge in IA, KS, MO, NE, OK & TX. Brood IV last emerged 4 years ago.
Members of Brood XXIII, the Mississippi Valley Brood, should emerge in AR, IL, IN, KY, LA, MO, MS, & TN. XIX last emerged 4 years ago.
Members of Brood X are emerging, so far in the Virginia area, but they have the potential to emerge anywhere in DE, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA, and WV. 2-year early emergences are rare, but it happens. Brood X is expected to emerge in 2 years.

We’re getting a lot of reports from the Anacostia area of Washington D.C. and Maryland.

Here’s an example of someone Tweeting about a Brood X “straggler” on Twitter.

Cicada emergent #AnacostiaRiver pic.twitter.com/PqghrPQwVT

— Jenny M Glenn (@JMGconsult) May 10, 2019

Use the Cicada Safari App to report them. See a map of sightings reported by the app.

Periodical cicadas are cicadas insects that emerge periodically, and not annually. In North America, there are 7 species of periodical cicadas, 3 of which have a 17-year lifecycle, and 4 have a 13-year lifecycle, and all 7 belong to the genus Magicicada. Here is a chart that shows where they are expected to emerge next. Magicicada regularly straggle — some emerge before or after they’re expected to.

Typically 17-year cicada stragglers emerge 4 years early, and 13-year cicada stragglers emerge 4 years late, but 1, 2 and even 8 year deviations are possible — see the probability chart.

At this point, most people question the use of the term “straggler” to define something that emerged early rather than late. If you’re uncomfortable using the term “straggler”, you can use the term “precursor” for cicadas than emerge earlier than expected. You might make up your own slang for them, like “deviant”, “pioneer” or “laggard” too.

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