Chremistica ribhoi, aka Niangtasar and the World Cup Cicada, is emerging! Chremistica ribhoi is a periodical cicada that lives in India (state of Meghalaya) and emerges every four years. It is nicknamed the World Cup cicada because it emerges the same year as the World Cup soccer/football sports event.
Sudhanya Ray Hajong sent us the following photos and text describing the event:
A molted, teneral (soft) male:
The worldcup cicada emergence May 2022
The four year long wait is over for the young and old of the villagers of Saiden village in the
northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya, and if you happen to be around you not fail to
notice the excitement among the young and old, men and women here in Saiden . It is
beginning of May and the World cup cicada or ‘Niangtaser’ as is called by the Bhoi
community has started emerging. The forest of Iewsier located on this a remote corner of
the world is suddenly buzzing with the calls of thousands of ‘Niangtaser’ or Chremistica
ribhoi Hajong & Yaakop, 2013.
Come sunset, one will see young children, boys and girls, and even aged man and
women with a bag carried around their shoulder, a piece of bamboo cane hung by tread
around their neck and a torch in hand – they are conversing in excitement and flocking in
small groups proceeding on trails taking them inside the forest. The atmosphere is almost
festive and everyone is so friendly and smiling expecting eagerly to seek out and pick as
many ‘ Niangtaser’ as possible, to be brought back home for delicious preparation and to
be pickles and dried and kept for months to relish the unique taste that Mother nature has
bestowed.
The nymphs with their powerful forelegs silently dig over ground in the stillness of the
night and one can see the still freshly emerged nymphs covered in soil crawling sluggishly
seeking anything upright to cling upward until they can secure themself on the surface with
their claws, the slow process then begins, with the splitting of the thoracic integument
along the mid dorsal line, the adult gradually pushes out of the shell until they are fully
outside the old exuviae, the wings which were crumpled slowly unfold and the now fully
emerged teneral adult with their fully spread-out wings appear as a beautiful greenish
ethereal glow under the soft light of our headlamps.
Come daylight and the adults now in hundreds and thousands fly out resting in clusters on
tips of twigs and branches of the several bamboos, one would hear the incessant and
almost whistling crescendo of calls of the ‘Niangtaser’ with the rising heat of the sun if you
are just below these trees one would feel the rain like shower drizzling earthward from the
hundreds of adults peeing from the tree tops.
This year though the fear of a fresh COVID resurgence had dampened the spirit of the
villagers of Siden , as no ‘Niangtaser’ Festival could be organised with much fanfare like
the previous emergence years.
The Folklore of the Bhoi people – A sick old women who was transformed into the
peeing ‘Niangtsers’
Long ago as the Bhoi Khasis of Siden village traditionally believed that, there lived an old
women who suddenly fell sick with a strange stomach ailment that made her to go
frequently to calls of nature for her frequent watery discharge. Fearing that her ailment
would spread among the villagers, the village elders finally decided that she was to taken
to the forest and kept separated alone in a bamboo thatch until she could get herself
cured. It is said that, when the villagers next morning went to check on her with food and
water, they were surprised to find they she had strangely vanished, but surprisingly they
found thousands of the cicadas everywhere on the branches of the trees and strangely all
of them were found to be discharging some kind of fluid from the rear of their abdomen.
They were thus lead to believe that the forest sprit feeling pity on her had transformed the
old sick women into thousands of the cicadas, and to this day the old women appear
around the forest of Iewsier in the form of thousands of ‘Niangtasers’ and even now she
still suffers from her stomach ailment and pass frequent watery discharges from the top of
trees.
Will the ‘Niangtaser’ come again and again, after every four years, few village the elders
who narrates how once upon a time ‘Niangtaser were plentiful and widespread; and how
now things have changed and how forest were gone along with many areas from were
‘Niangtaser’ are no more found. They are saddened by this development and tells us that
the number of ‘Niangtaser’is dwindling, forest patches where large number of them
emerges are no longer there, in its place farmlands and houses had appeared, they fear it
is not far when the folklore and the ‘Niangtaser’ that is so relished will vanish and only
remain a folklore of the distant past. The unique gift of mother nature may no longer be
there if we do not check our greed and our want for more and more land and more
material wealth. Village elders like Bah Kret Sungkli caution us that if we do not part our
greedy ways we may have to lose this wonderful gift of mother nature.
By Sudhanya Ray Hajong with able field assistance from my dear Rodeson Thangkiew,
who was inspired by ‘Niangtaser’ and to take up his PhD in cicadas.
The paper The molecular systematics and diversification of a taxonomically unstable group of Asian cicada tribes related to Cicadini Latreille, 1802 (Hemiptera : Cicadidae)1 has introduced a new tribe Ayuthiini, replacing Tosenini for two genera of cicadas: Distantalna and Ayuthia.
1 Hill Kathy B. R., Marshall David C., Marathe Kiran, Moulds Maxwell S., Lee Young June, Pham Thai-Hong, Mohagan Alma B., Sarkar Vivek, Price Benjamin W., Duffels J. P., Schouten Marieke A., de Boer Arnold J., Kunte Krushnamegh, Simon Chris (2021) The molecular systematics and diversification of a taxonomically unstable group of Asian cicada tribes related to Cicadini Latreille, 1802 (Hemiptera : Cicadidae). Invertebrate Systematics 35, 570-601. https://doi.org/10.1071/IS20079
Recently a new paper was published with the authors Kathy B. R. Hill, David C. Marshall, Kiran Marathe, Maxwell S. Moulds, Young June Lee, Thai-Hong Pham, Alma B. Mohagan, Vivek Sarkar, Benjamin W. Price, J. P. Duffels, Marieke A. Schouten, Arnold J. de Boer, Krushnamegh Kunte and Chris Simon titled The molecular systematics and diversification of a taxonomically unstable group of Asian cicada tribes related to Cicadini Latreille, 1802 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in Invertebrate Systematics, 2021, 35, 570–601. Link to the paper.
Here’s the abstract:
Abstract. The cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) related to tribe Cicadini exhibit some of the most remarkable phenotypes in the family, with many genera possessing striking colour patterns and unusual morphological features. This largely Asian group of 13 tribes has proven challenging for cicada taxonomists, in part because of likely convergent evolution or losses of these phenotypes. We present the first focused molecular phylogeny of this clade, including ~60 described genera. The genetic dataset contains 839 ingroup-informative sites (out of 2575) from mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, nuclear elongation factor-1 a, and nuclear acetyltransferase. We use Bayesian and maximum likelihood trees to test recent changes in tribe- and subtribe-level classification, and we reconstruct ancestral character states for potentially convergent traits influencing tribe descriptions. We use fossil and molecular clock calibrations to estimate the temporal and geographic context of the radiation. The tribes Gaeanini, Leptopsaltriini, Platypleurini, Psithyristriini, and Tosenini appear polyphyletic and in need of revision, in part because of convergent evolution of opaque wings and multiple convergent gains or losses of abdominal tubercles. Kalabita Moulton, 1923 is transferred from Platypleurini to Leptopsaltriini. Vittagaeana gen. nov. is established for Vittagaeana paviei comb. nov. and Vittagaeana dives comb. nov., formerly in Tosena. Sinosenini syn. nov. is synonymised with
As part of the paper, we get a new genus, Vittagaeana, made up of two cicadas formerly belonging to the genus Tosena. They were likely placed under Tosena because of the white line on their forewings, but after a review of genetics and other features, they have been given their own genus. They are closely related to the genera Ambragaeana, Callogaeana, Gaeana, Sulphogaeana and Trengganua. Also similar to Balinta, Paratalainga, and Talainga.
A. Male uncus not hooked at the extremity, sometimes sinuate.
B. Expanse of fore wings more than 50 mm.
CC. The base of the fore and hind wings not of the usual orange-red variegated with black.
Body and wing venation nearly entirely orange; basal cell of fore wings clear; a black band between the eyes, and a conspicuous dorsal band of the same color extending from the hind margin of the pronotum to the end of the abdomen.
Davis, William T. Cicadas of the genera Okanagana, Tibicinoides and Okanagodes, with descriptions of several new species. Journal of the New York Entomological Society. v27. 179-223. 1919. Link.
Here’s a short 2021 update for the Platypedia putnami survey at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, west of Fort Collins, Colorado. 2021 is turning out to be a very large emergence for this cicada, and it’s not through yet! The survey transect goes from the trailhead parking lot to Horsetooth Falls. Although the first exuvia found was on May 22, 2021, the bulk of the exuvia, so far, have emerged (153 of 201 exuvia) June 5-8th. “Clicking” of adults can be heard in many areas, but is concentrated in certain sites.
Tim McNary
Fort Collins, CO
Here are the mega data on exuvia found each year:
2009- 136 exuvia
2010- 0
2011- 3
2012- 2
2013- 179
2014- 0
2015- 12
2016- 0
2017- 0
2018- 13
2019- 2
2020- 0
2021- 201 (exuvia through June 8, 2021)
Paper title: Description of three new species of the genus Mata Distant, 1906 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadinae: Oncotympanini) with notes on their natural history from the Indian state of Meghalaya, India
Authors: Vivek Sarkar, Cuckoo Mahapatra, Pratyush P. Mohapatra, Manoj V. Nair, Krushnamegh Kunte
Abstract: “Three new species of the Asian genus Mata Distant, 1906 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) viz. Mata lenonia sp.nov.; Mata ruffordii sp.nov. and Mata meghalayana sp.nov. are described from the Indian state of Meghalaya. Keys and taxonomic descriptions of these species are provided with detailed accounts of their natural history and acoustics.”
The Brood Chart features the names of the broods (Roman numerals), their life cycle length, when they will emerge next, which states they’ll emerge in, links to Maps, the species that will emerge, and other information. Click the maps for larger, detailed maps.
Species: M. tredecim, M. neotredecim, M. tredecassini, M. tredecula.
States: AR, IL, IN, KY, LA, MO, MS, TN
When will they emerge?
Generally speaking, these cicadas will begin to emerge when the soil 8″ beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit (Heath, 1968). A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence. They typically emerge in May but have been known to emerge in late April or early June. It all depends on the weather.
What should you look for before they emerge?
Chimneys / Turrets
Look for cicada chimneys a.k.a. turrets. These are structures cicadas build out of the soil, positioned above the hole where they will emerge.
Holes
Look for holes in the diameter of an adult’s finger near the root system of a tree. These are sure signs that cicadas will emerge in the area.
Cicadas Under Stones & Slates
You might discover some cicada nymphs while turning over stones or when performing landscaping chores.
This is a recently emerged nymph crawling up a tree. Note that its eyes are red.
Once cicadas nymphs have emerged from the ground, they will try to find a tree (or similar vertical surface), and then begin the process of shedding their old nymph skins (ecdysis), expanding their wings, and changing to their adult coloring. Watch this amazing transformation.
How to tell the difference between the seven Magicicada species:
Left to right: Magicicada cassini, Magicicada septendecula, Magicicada septendecim:
The first way is based on the Brood. Take a look at the Brood chart above, and see which species appear with the Brood.
There are 3 basic types of Magicicada: “‘Decims”, “‘Cassini” and “‘Deculas”.
Magicicada neotredecim Marshall and Cooley 2000. 13-year life cycle. Broods: XIX, XXIII.
Magicicada tredecim (Walsh and Riley, 1868). 13-year life cycle. Brood: XIX, XXII, XXIII.
Their songs are very similar, however, when M. neotredecim & M. tredecim emerge in the same location, M. neotredecim’s song takes a higher pitch. Sounds like “Pharaoh, Pharaoh!”.
Visual Appearance:
Male on left; Female on right.
M. neotredecim & M. septendecim have broad orange stripes with more orange than black on their abdomens.
M. tredecim, by comparison, have almost entirely orange abdomens.
M. septendecim cicadas also have an area of orange coloring between the eye and the wing (pronotal extension).
“Cassini” aka Dwarf Cicadas
There are two species in this category:
Magicicada cassini (Fisher, 1851). 17-year life cycle. Broods: I-V, VIII-X, XIII, XIV.
Magicicada tredecassini Alexander and Moore, 1962. 13-year life cycle. Broods: XIX, XXII, XXII.
Their songs are essentially identical:
M. cassini Call and Court:
Note how it makes a quick burst of sound, followed by some rapid clicks.
Visual Appearance:
Female on left; Male on right.
M. tredecassin & M. cassini cicadas have black abdomens with virtually no orange at all. Orange stripes are possible in the mid-west (important to note for Brood IV).
“Decula”
There are two species in this category:
Magicicada septendecula Alexander and Moore, 1962. 17-year life cycle. Broods: I-VI, VIII-X, XIII, XIV.
Magicicada tredecula Alexander and Moore, 1962. 13-year life cycle. Broods: XIX, XXII, XXIII.
Their songs are essentially identical:
M. tredecula Call:
Note the “tick, tick, tick” rhythm of the call.
Visual Appearance:
Female on left; Male on right.
M. septendecula & M. tredecula have stripes that feature more black than orange. Otherwise, they’re very similar to M. cassini.
How to figure out if they’re coming to your town?
Verify that they’re coming to your state. Check the Magicicada Brood Chart on this page.
Check Cicada Brood Maps linked from this page to see if they’re coming to your general area.
Check to see if they’re coming to your neighborhood. Good sources include:
Ask someone who lived there 17 (or 13) years before.
Old timers (hint: old timers usually call them locusts).
Check your local Library for old newspaper articles.
Check with a local college: contact the entomology, forestry, or agriculture-related departments.
Your local national, state, county and town parks department (parks and rec). Some county parks departments plan events around cicada emergences.
When will they emerge?
They will emerge sometime in the Spring, for sure.
They typically emerge once the soil 8 inches (20 cm) below the surface gets to 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celcius). At that temperature, they will start digging their tunnels to the surface. After a couple of days with above-ground temperatures near the 80’s F, and after a good rain, they will definitely emerge. Read this paper for more info: Thermal Synchronization of Emergence in Periodical “17-year” Cicadas (Homoptera, Cicadidae, Magicicada) by James Edward Heath, American Midland Naturalist, Vol. 80, No. 2. (Oct., 1968), pp. 440-448.
Cicadas in sunny areas of your yard will emerge before cicadas in shady areas.
Cicadas in the southern-most states will emerge before cicadas in northern states.
Question: Why do I have cicadas in my neighborhood, but your chart indicates that I shouldn’t?
Answer: Some possibilities: 1) they are stragglers, periodical cicadas that emerge too soon or late, 2) they are not periodical cicadas, but are a different North American species, 3) you live on a continent other than North America, in which case, try one of these pages, or 4) SURPRISE! The U.S. is a big place and some cicada populations have yet to be documented.
Question: Why don’t I have periodical cicadas in my area, but the information on your website indicates that I should?
Answer: Two possibilities: 1) they went extinct or otherwise died off in your area, or 2) they aren’t everywhere in a state – normally there are large gaps in their range.
Question: What are stragglers?
Answer:Stragglers can emerge 1 or 4 years early or 1 or 4 years late. Don’t be surprised if you see some periodical cicadas emerge earlier than planned this year. 17-year brood members are most likely to straggle 4 years early, and 13-year brood members are most likely to straggle 4 years late. Straggler probability chart.
Question: Why are there no Brood XI, XII, XV, XVI… ?
Answer: Perhaps you’ve noticed there are no Broods XI (11), XII (12), XV (15), XVI (16), XVII (17), XVIII (18), XX (20), XXI (21), XXIV (24), etc. Don’t worry about that. They never existed or are extinct (XI, XXI).
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.
Check the Cicada Central Magicicada Database to see the counties where cicadas have appeared in the past. For more information about this database and cicada research in general, visit the Simon Lab website.
