Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
Cicadas have three types of life cycles: annual, periodical, proto-periodical.
Magicicada tredecassini by Lenny Lampel Natural Resources Coordinator Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Charlotte, NC. 2010.
Magicicada tredecassini (abdomen), Lower McAlpine Greenway 051010 (by Lenny Lampel):
Magicicada tredecassini, Lower McAlpine Greenway 051010 (by Lenny Lampel):
Magicicada tredecassini exuvia, Lower McAlpine Greenway 051010 (by Lenny Lampel):
Magicicada tredecassini exuvia on spicebush, Lower McAlpine Greenway 051010 (by Lenny Lampel):
Continuing from part 1, Elias Bonaros did some digging and took these photos of first and second instar Magicicada periodical cicadas on a warm winter day (March 21, 2010).
Now you know what cicadas look like when they’re underground!
Generally speaking the ones with the bulbous abdomens are second instar, and the smaller ones with the less bulbous or not bulbous abdomens are first instar.
Have you every wondered what cicadas look like when they’re underground? Elias Bonaros did some digging and took these photos of first and second instar Magicicada periodical cicadas on a warm winter day (March 21, 2010). Magicicadas have 5 instars, or phases of development. Each phase has a slightly different appearance.
This is a probable second instar nymph of Magicicada septendecim (Periodical cicada) from the 2008 Brood XIV emergence. Dug up from beneath an oak tree. It was living approximately 4-6 inches from the ground surface. Temperature 70 degrees.
These are probable first and second instar nymphs of Magicicada septendecim (Periodical cicada) from the 2008 Brood XIV emergence. Dug up from beneath an oak tree. They were living approximately 4-6 inches from the ground surface. Temperature 70 deg.
Magicicada skins (exuvia) blanket the ground around the roots of a tree. This is a photo of periodical cicada skins taken by John Cooley of Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) in Warriors’ Path State Park, TN, in 2012. Brood I.
Photos of Magicicada cicadas with white & blue eyes by Roy Troutman from 2004.
Photo of a Magicicada cicada with blue eyes by Roy Troutman.
Photo of a Magicicada cicada with blue eyes by Roy Troutman.
Photo of a Magicicada cicada with white eyes by Roy Troutman.
Photo of a Magicicada cicada with white eyes by Roy Troutman.
17-year Magicicada Photos by Gwen Elferdink from Brood X 2004.
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:
Close up:
Another close up:
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 cicada species page. If you’re outside the U.S.A., start your search here.
Some guides for identifying Neotibicen & Megatibicen, 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. |
Here’s a list by state:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
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:
And some photos:
Video of the amazing cicada that was just a head.
A very cool Brood VIII cicada frisbee:
We expect some periodical cicadas to emerge earlier and later than expected this year:
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.
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.
