Cicada ManiaLocations where cicadas can be found, including countries and continents.
If you’re in the Sydney, Australia area and you see or hear a cicada this season, report it to the Great Cicada Blitz, an iNaturalist website set up by cicada researcher Nathan Emery. The purpose of this website is to map and identify the various cicada species in the Sydney area.
Allen F. Sanborn & Maxine S. Heath published a new paper about cicadas titled The cicadas of Argentina with new records, a new genus and fifteen new species (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae) in Zootaxa Vol 3883, No 1, in November of 2014. Website for the document.
The abstract of the paper reveals some exciting discoveries:
The document is 94 pages long.
Depending on where you live, it might be warm enough for periodical cicadas to start moving around underground, or start digging tunnels to the surface and building cicada “chimneys” above their holes.
What to look for:
1) Animals can hear the cicadas stirring underground, and will try to dig them up and eat them. Look for holes (about the size of a walnut or larger) made by animals digging for cicadas.
2) Look for cicadas under stones and slates. Some cicadas will burrow their way to the surface, but they hit a large stone or slate and can go no further.
If you find them in this situation, gently put the stone or slate back. They will usually find their way around the obstruction once the time is right.
One clue that a Magicicada nymph is not ready to emerge is its eyes are still white. Their eyes turn red/orange before emerging (a few retain a white/blue color).
3) Cicada holes are about the size of a dime. Cicadas preemptively dig holes to the surface and wait until the weather is nice enough for them to emerge. Sometimes you can see them down in the holes.
4) Cicadas form chimneys above their holes when the soil is moist or muddy. These chimneys might look like a simple golf ball-sized dome or a structure over six inches tall.
Photo by Roy Troutman.
Periodical cicadas typically won’t emerge until their body temperature reaches approximately 65 degrees Fahrenheit (17-19.5 Celsius1). Their bodies are warmed by surrounding soil or warm water from rain. A good rule of thumb is, if the soil 8 inches(20 cm) deep is 65°F, the conditions are good that they might emerge.
And here’s how to tell if a nymph is ready to molt:
1Heath, J.E. 1968. Thermal synchronization of emergence in periodical “17-year” cicadas (Homoptera. Cicadidae, Magicicada). American Midland Naturalist 80:440—448.
A new version of the Cicadidae of Japan is out. This is not a reprint. It adds new photos and the accompanying CD features new audio recordings.
The book was authored by Dr. M. Haysashi and Dr. Yasumasa Saisho (of the incredible Cicadidae of Japan website).
It is available on Amazon in Japan.
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:
Photo by Sid Mosdell. Auckland New Zealand. CC BY 2.0.
Photo by Nuytsia@Tas. Punakaiki, Paporoa National Park, New Zealand. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Members of the genus Kikihia:
Photo by Rosino. Auckland, New Zealand. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Photo by aliceskr. New Zealand. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Members of the genus Maoricicada:
Photos by Jon Sullivan. Auckland, New Zealand. CC BY-NC 2.0.
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.
Isn’t this a lovely picture (updated with colors sorted)?
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 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.
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.
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).
This is a selection of links to websites dedicated to the cicadas of Australia.
Cicada season in New Zealand begins in November and lasts throughout their Summer months.
Here is a list of the best New Zealand cicada links:
Iván Jesús Torresano García send us a dozens of cicada photos from Spain, where he resides. According to Iván June is a peak time for cicadas in Spain. Cicadas common to the area are: Cicada orni, Lyristes (old Tibicen) plebejus, Tettigetta argentata, Hilapura varipes, Euryphara contentei (miniature), Tibicina tomentosa, and finally the brownish “Barbara Lusitanica Cicada”.
Galleries:
Here are some of these cicadas captured by Iván.
Cicada orni:
Cicada orni is one of the most common cicadas in Spain and all of Europe. The are incredibly well camouflaged.
Tettigettalna argentata:
Hilaphura varipes:
Euryphara contentei:
For more information of the cicadas of Spain, visit Songs of European Singing Cicadas.