Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
Here’s a map of 2023 Magicicada straggler sightings from 2023 Magicicada stragglers iNaturalist project and the Cicada Safari app. Dr. Gene Kritsky compiled the map.
It looks like there are plenty of stragglers from these broods:
Learn about Magicicada stragglers.
Here’s the latest map of stragglers from Gene for June 1st:
Gene Kristsky let us know that people are finding Magicada stragglers and reporting them on iNaturalist. It looks like most of the stragglers are in the Brood XIX area currently, but as temperatures warm, we might see others from other Broods.
Be on the lookout in 2022 (or any year)! Any place you see a red dot is a possibility. Even central Massachusettes (former home of Brood XI) and Ontario — maybe so.
Straggler-related facts:
What is a Magicicada:
A Magicicada is a genus of cicada that lives in the United States that typically emerges in 17 or 13-year cycles depending on the species.
They look like this:
What is a Brood:
A Brood is a numbered group of Magicicada cicadas that emerge in a specific series of years.
Example: Brood X (X is the Roman numeral for 10) emerges every 17 years, i.e. 2021, 2038, 2055, etc.
What is a Straggler:
A Straggler is a Magicicada that emerges earlier or later than anticipated.
Example: If a Brood XIX (13-year, next due in 2024) cicada emerges in 2022, we can say it is a straggler that emerged 2 years early.
Stragglers that emerge earlier than expected have also been called “precursors” (Marlatt 1898). I also call them “pioneers”.
Brood X Magicicada photos by Jim Occi taken in Princeton, set 6. 2021.
Teneral Magicicada:
Teneral Magicicada:
Magicicada septendecim that failed to completely exit its exuvia before its body hardened:
Magicicada septendecim that failed to completely exit its exuvia before its body hardened:
A pair of Magicicada septendecim:
More from Jim Occi:
Brood X Magicicada photos by Jim Occi taken in Princeton, set 5. 2021.
Molting Magicicada:
Teneral Magicicada:
Teneral Magicicada:
Teneral Magicicada expanding wings:
Adult Magicicada with crumpled wings:
More from Jim Occi:
Brood X Magicicada photos by Jim Occi taken in Princeton, set 4. 2021.
A Rutgers cap in Princeton (one day Rutgers needs to get that cannon back).
Magicicada septendecim with exposed tymbal:
A Magicicada with its abdomen wrecked by Massospora fungus.
Magicicada exit holes:
A pair of Magicicada septendecim:
More from Jim Occi:
Brood X Magicicada photos by Jim Occi taken in Princeton, set 3. 2021.
Magicicada septendecim on finger:
Teneral, newly molted Magicicada:
Magicicada septendecim perched on a plant stalk:
A mass of Magicicada skins:
Magicicada septendecim on a leaf:
More from Jim:
Here are some Magicicada cassinii photos from Brood X, 2021, Flemmington, New Jersey.
Magicicada cassinii ovipositing
M. cassinii taking a drink:
Magicicada cicadas are often the victims of bird attacks or fungus infestation, which results in the removal of the cicada’s abdomen. Sometimes a bird removes the cicadas head. In both cases, the cicada’s body keeps moving, and some people question whether or not the cicada then becomes a zombie. No, the cicada does not become a zombie.
When Magicicada cicadas deposit eggs into a tree branch sometimes the branch dies, the leaves turn brown, and the branch droops like a flag. This is called flagging.
Here are some examples of flagging from the Brood X emergence in Princeton, NJ.
Typically flagging is more impactful to trees imported to North America, but it also impacts native species. The positive aspect is it prunes weaker branches, which helps the tree, and helps other plants in the shade of the tree.
If you want to learn whether eggs/larva survive flagging read FLAGGING: HOSTS DEFENCES VERSUS OVIPOSITION STRATEGIES IN PERIODICAL CICADAS (MAGICICADA SPP., CICADIDAE, HOMOPTERA) by JoAnn White. Hint: very few survive.
A small tree with flagging:
Flagging up close:
Another small tree with flagging:
These are a set of Brood X Magicicada photos from Princeton, nearby a Burger King, an area with a large population of Magicicada septendecula. Taken in 2021 by Dan Mozgai.
Left to right: Magicicada cassini, Magicicada septendecula, Magicicada septendecim:
Magicicada septendecim with a black wing margin:
Magicicada septendecim with a black wing margin:
A pair of Magicicada septedecim:
Magicicada septendecim:
Magicicada septendecim:
