Roy Troutman found this Brood XIV Magicicada straggler in the Cincinnati Ohio area this weekend. This cicada emerged 2 years after it should have. Amazing.
Cicadas have three types of life cycles: annual, periodical, proto-periodical.
July 1, 2010
May 16, 2010
May 11, 2010
Magicicada tredecassini audio from Charlotte, North Carolina
Update: Brood XIX straggler photos by Lenny Lampel.
Here’s a treat. Lenny Lampel, Natural Resources Coordinator for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Conservation Science Office in Charlotte, NC, uploaded these videos that feature the calls of Magicicada tredecassini to YouTube.
Magicicada tredecassini chorus:
A small chorus of one year early Magicicada tredecassini stragglers of Brood XIX calling from the Lower McAlpine Greenway in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 10, 2010.
Magicicada tredecassini calls :
One year early Magicicada tredecassini stragglers of Brood XIX calling from the Lower McAlpine Greenway in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 10, 2010.
May 6, 2010
Look out for Magicicada stragglers – cicadas emerging early
Magicicada cicadas are emerging early across America! You might know them as periodical cicadas, 13 or 17 year cicadas, or “locusts”. When cicadas emerge early (or later) they’re called stragglers.
Chances are they’re from Brood XIX or Brood XXII:
– Brood XIX is set to emerge in AL, AR, GA, IN, IL, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, VA next year.
– Brood XXII is set to emerge in LA, MS in 2014.
If you see one of these cicadas, report them to Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org). Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) records the location of cicadas and adds them to a map, for scientific purposes.
Image of Magicicada:
Here’s what they sound like:
More information:
August 20, 2009
2009 Magicicada Discussions
Note: no major broods emerged in 2009.
Mary — those are Tibicen cicadas, and they’ll be around for the rest of the summer.
Comment by Dan — August 20, 2009 [AT] 9:00 pm
Yes. Buy The Songs of Insects by Lang Elliott and Wil Hershberger. It has many songs of North American cicadas.
Comment by Dan — August 20, 2009 [AT] 11:55 am
Hi,
does anyone know of commercially available cicada song/call recordings?
I live in Philly Pa. &
we have annual cicadas.
Don’t know the specie
but it produces a metallic/castenet type of sound.I think it’s really cool.
Comment by Bob — August 20, 2009 [AT] 11:42 am
I have seen these in Northern VA/DC area the last two weeks….primarily at my front and back door lights in the evenings. I can hear the trees full of them, which compeltely freaks me out now that I know what they look like.
How long can I expect them to be hanging around town?
Comment by Mary — August 18, 2009 [AT] 5:42 pm
Hello Chris. The Periodical cicadas have come and gone (a small emergence was noted in New Jersey). I live in New York and heard an annual cicada call 2 days ago. They usually take another week or two before they begin a noticeable chorus. Lets keep our fingers crossed and keep listening.
Comment by Elias — July 5, 2009 [AT] 5:32 am
i have a question for the experts im in nj and have not heard cicadas yet and its early july are they going to come in late or not come due to the cold spring?
Comment by chris egan — July 4, 2009 [AT] 11:11 pm
I have more than a dozen holes in my garden and have seen about eight left shells on the house, tree or swing. I have seen this Cicada (see website: http://agiesea.blogspot.com/2009/06/was-ist-das-fur-ein-insekt.html) about two weeks ago and now the neighbor hood is full of the singing. Not all time but loud. What brood is it and what type of Cicada is it. I come originally from Germany and never heard about Cicadas. My position is Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Comment by Drachenfanger — June 30, 2009 [AT] 5:51 pm
Magicicada (the red eyed periodical cicada) ususally are done by the beginning of July in most northern areas. The latest I caught one here was July 2nd in Brookhaven, Long Island. This was last year during the very end of Brood XIV.
Comment by Elias — June 30, 2009 [AT] 7:55 am
How long do they keep up their racket?
Comment by Pam — June 24, 2009 [AT] 12:21 am
Day 20 for my Magicicada and she is no more. Almost 3 weeks, the longest I ever kept one in captivity. Hopefully there are some stragglers still left out there although the cool and rainy weather is not helping at all!
Comment by Elias — June 20, 2009 [AT] 7:18 am
Day 16 for the female from Staten Island. She is still going strong. This is the longest I have ever kept a cicada alive in captivity. Has anyone else seen any Magicicada? May make a trip to Brookhaven soon to see if there was any activity from Brood XIV. Last trip to Fanwood and S.I. revealed no cicadas.
Comment by Elias — June 15, 2009 [AT] 7:20 pm
Day 14 for the Magicicada septendecim female that was captured in Staten Island. A few days ago she oviposited. Not clear if she was able to mate with one of the New Jersey males as she was fairly young while they were in their prime. She looks strong so far. Hopefully she will get the record for longevity!!
Comment by Elias — June 13, 2009 [AT] 6:00 pm
The search yesterday in Staten Island did not turn up any specimens. Saw many beautiful parks: Blue Heron Nature preserve, Clay Pits Pond Park, Wolfe’s Pond Park, and Conference House Park. Found a shell at Clay Pits Park and was told by a park ranger they came up about a week ago. No calling heard. Returned to Fanwood NJ too since I was by the Outerbridge Crossing. Saw lots of shells but they were probably left over from the previous 2 weeks. No calling and no specimens. Has anyone else seen any Magicicada? Seems like the accelerated emergence is all over.
Day 14 in the mini colony. The only one left alive from the original Fanwood Brood is the Massospora stricken cicada. Half the cicada’s body is gone yet she is still alive! This insect never ceases to amaze me!!
Comment by Elias — June 7, 2009 [AT] 6:09 am
Day 12 in the mini colony. Lost the first male yesterday. the second male appears to be tiring. did not hear him call this AM. 3 females still alive, one is the recent Staten Island specimen.
Staten Island news is picking up on the early cicadas and published an article here.http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/124411770745200.xml&coll=1
Will probably search again over the weekend.
Comment by Elias — June 5, 2009 [AT] 4:05 am
Day 9 in the captive colony. The two males are calling like crazy and the one infected with Massospora is still flicking her wings to keep them going. The female that mated last time has begun to lay eggs in the branches I have in there. I have seen all aspects of their life style. What a cool present nature gave me.
Hope some others are finding stragglers. There are a lot of people in Brood II and Brood XIV land!
Comment by Elias — June 2, 2009 [AT] 7:36 pm
Took a trip to Staten island today. Found 2 cicada burrows in Blue Heron Nature Preserve but no skins/adults. Then went to Wolfe’s Pond Park and found some cast off shells on Sycamore trees only. Then after a long day and a good stroke of luck, 1 nymph came up at 8:30PM on a sycamore tree. He is molting right now and so far the process is going well. Learned a technique from Gerry Bunker and that is to transport nymphs horizontally in a plastic container to prevent them from molting which leads to certain deformity. Day 7 for the rest of the colony. The two males are still calling and one pair mated already.
Comment by Elias — May 31, 2009 [AT] 8:55 pm
Update on my mini colony that is being kept alive in a Butterfly pavilion. One young male started to sing today. The amplitude is very low. Also a female in the cage responded with wing flick signalling. Brought home 8 from New jersey, 6 still alive. Today is Day #4. Next couple of days may need to look in Staten island or back to Fanwood. Anyone have any other reports? I know the weather is terrible. We need some sunshine!!
Comment by Elias — May 28, 2009 [AT] 8:17 pm
Thanks to Charlene’s post I went to Fanwood. found 7 tenerals and captured one nymph which will eclose here in the comfort of my home. Heard some light M. septendecim choruses. did not see any M. cassini or M. septendecula. Some trees where covered with at least 100 exuvia. Some had none. The question is have we seen the maximum yet or is it just starting? Please keep an eye out for further emergence sites here in the North East.
Comment by Elias — May 25, 2009 [AT] 1:10 pm
Can anyone tell me places where cicadas are being seen in New jersey or New York. I will travel to document this interesting accelerated emergence. Parks where they have been observed or street intersections would be of greatest value. Thank you!
Comment by Elias — May 24, 2009 [AT] 7:51 am
Charlene, yes, they’re stragglers even though there are so many. They’re stragglers by virtue of the fact that they’re arriving 4 years early.
Comment by Dan — May 22, 2009 [AT] 7:02 pm
Our NJ town (30 miles west of Manhattan) is covered in Magicicadas. Can they be straggers when the entire town is covered in them? Here are some photos I took today:
Comment by Charlene — May 22, 2009 [AT] 6:49 pm
Saw a whole lot of cicadas around Cedar Ridge Drive, in (Spotsylvania County) Fredericksburg, VA 22407
Comment by Selena Barefoot — May 18, 2009 [AT] 5:38 pm
We had one of these at our back porch light last night in Carroll County, Virginia. I thought it was some sort of very large bee (looked to be about the size of a humming bird!) but decided to do some research today after work and there it is! I see there have been a number of other sightings in Virginia recently.
Comment by Lori — May 18, 2009 [AT] 3:09 pm
May 26, 2009
Magicicada septendecim photos
On Monday (Memorial Day) I was lucky enough to find a lone Magicicada septendecim brood II straggler in Metuchen, NJ. This is a male, and he was about 1.5 inches or 3.8 centimeters long.
Look for orange coloring between the wing and eye to identify Magicicada septendecim:
Cicadas have 3 tiny eyes called ocelli:
Thanks to Elias for noticing the coloration behind the eye that IDs this as a decim.
May 20, 2009
Brood XIV stragglers confirmed as well as Brood II
So, we already know that Brood II stragglers are emerging in places like North Carolina and Virginia. Brood II cicadas weren’t due until 2013, which means the Brood II cicadas emerging now are emerging 4 years ahead of schedule.
At the same time, Brood XIV stragglers are emerging in Ohio (Batavia, Ohio to be exact). Brood XIV emerged in full-force last year, which means some Brood XIV cicadas emerging now are emerging 1 year behind schedule.
If you compare the Brood II map and Brood XIV map you’ll see they don’t overlap. Hint: open each map in a different browser or browser tab and toggle between the two.
Here’s some pictures of the Brood XIV stragglers Roy Troutman found just tonight in Batavia, Ohio.
May 7, 2009
Brood II Stragglers Emerging in New Locations
John Zyla of Cicadas.info has a report of a Brood II Magicicada (decim) found in Hollywood, St. Mary’s Co, MD.
If you find a cicada make sure you report it to Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) (Dr. John Cooley), and if in the Mid-Atlantic region report it to Cicadas.info (John Zyla) as well.
I’m pretty psyched — looks like some Brood II stragglers might emerge in New Jersey.
May 4, 2009
Magicicada septendecim emerging in Greensboro, NC
Tommy Joseph took these photos of Magicicada septendecim emerging Greensboro, North Carolina.
Update: looking at the maps, they probably aren’t brood XIV. Looks like they are Brood II accelerated 4 years, or Brood XIX accelerated 2 years (which would make them 13 year cicadas).
Big pile of skins:
Magicicada with damaged wings:
Adult Magicicada:
Exuvia/skin/shell:
Male Magicicada septendecim:
Exuvia/skins/shells on leaves:
April 24, 2009
Be on the lookout for Brood XIV stragglers?
Be on the lookout for Brood XIV stragglers. A few Magicicada that didn’t emerge in 2008 should appear in 2009! Keep your eyes and ears peeled.
Magicicada Discussions from 2010
Note: no major broods emerged in 2010.
I wanted to mention that I heard several Periodicals(cassini) in blue springs around the first week of June. Maybe a total of about 15 0r 20 in 2 trees.
Comment by Steve Karan — July 1, 2010 [AT] 2:01 pm
Heard a cassini singing in the trees for about 45 minutes today in Loveland. It was finally sunny and warm enough for it after 7 days of cool weather.
Comment by Roy Troutman — May 22, 2010 [AT] 6:15 pm
May 15, 2010 M cassini, Milford, OH (Cincinnati)
Comment by Jennifer Taylor — May 14, 2010 [AT] 7:53 am
I forgot to mention that the greenway is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The largest concentration of cicadas was observed between the 3-mile and 3.25-mile markers (between Johnston Rd and Hwy 51). Also, several adults had the Massospora cicadina fungal disease.
Comment by Lenny Lampel — May 11, 2010 [AT] 6:05 am
I observed a small emergence of one year early stragglers of Brood XIX on Monday, May 10. There were several dozen calling along a one mile stretch of the Lower McAlpine Greenway. The emergence appeared to be entirely Magicicada tredecassini. Interestingly, the emergence occurred in a floodplain forest. Good numbers of exuviae were observed on wetland shrubs and grasses and numerous live adults were on the ground and flying between trees. Several grackles were seen eating the cicadas and yellow-billed cuckoos and great-crested flycatchers were also in the area and were extremely vocal.
Comment by Lenny Lampel — May 11, 2010 [AT] 5:59 am