Cicada Mania

Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.

May 14, 2018

Website highlight: Long Island Cicadas

Filed under: United States | Websites — Dan @ 8:36 pm

Long Island Cicadas is a blog about cicadas created and maintained by artist & photographer Annette DeGiovine.

Annette is a fantastic photographer and citizen scientist.

Long Island Cicadas

Here’s a sample of the articles on the blog.

November 20, 2014

Australia Cicada Websites

Filed under: Australia | Websites — Dan @ 10:26 am

This is a selection of links to websites dedicated to the cicadas of Australia.

  1. A web guide to the Cicadas of Australia. BY L.W. Popple. Features an abundance of cicada information, photos and maps PHOTOS MAPS AUDIO.
  2. CSIRO Cicadidae (ento.csiro.au) Dozens of specimen photos organized by scientific name, including location information too. PHOTOS
  3. Brisbane Cicadas (brisbaneinsects.com) One of the best Australian cicada sites. Features pages for the following cicadas Brown Bunyip, Razor Grinder, Bladder Cicada, Floury Baker, Thin-striped Wattle Cicada, Small Bottle. Many photos and some audio files. PHOTOS AUDIO
  4. Narelle Power’s Cicada Photos (pbase.com) About a dozen photos, including Cicadetta oldfieldi (Wattle), Tamasa tristigma (Brown Bunyip), Psaltoda harrisii (Yellow Belly). PHOTOS
  5. Scribbly Gum’s The Summer of Signing Cicadas (abc.net.au) Many beautiful photos and fantastic information. PHOTOS MAPS
  6. Morwell National Park Online (morwellnp.pangaean.net) Photos of Cicadetta abdominalis/Grasshopper firetail, Cicadetta denisoni/Black firetail, Cyclochila australasiae/Greengrocer, Pauropsalta rubristrigata/Great montane squeaker. PHOTOS
  7. Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges – Cicadas (rainforest-australia.com) Several photos and many lists of cicada facts. Tropical North Queensland, Australia. PHOTOS
  8. AusEmade Cicada (ausemade.com.au) An abundance of cicada information including photos and a chart that tells you where you can find cicadas by scientific and common names. PHOTOS

November 16, 2014

Where can I buy cicadas online?

Filed under: FAQs | Websites — Dan @ 4:28 am

People ask, where can I buy cicadas online?

There are a lot of places, but here are my favorites:

  • Ebay.com. eBay is a good place to find cicada specimens, particularly if you are just starting your collection. Colorful Asian species dominate the species for sale, but you will usually find American species during or after a periodical cicada emergence (when those are plentiful). Most specimens you’ll find on eBay are mounted, but you can find unmounted specimens as well.
  • God of Insects. The God of Insects site has been around for a long time. You’ll find mostly Asian species, which are the most collectible because of their beauty.
  • BioQuipBugs. BioQuipBugs has a wide variety of species from a Africa, Asia, North and South America. Their prices are inexpensive. The specimens are also unmounted.
  • CTValley Bio only has one cicada product, but it’s really cool: the Cicada Life Cycle. This mount illustrates the Magicicada lifecycle and includes an egg, nymph and adult.

Connecticut Valley Biological Supply Company Cicada Life Cycle mount: Connecticut Valley Biological Supply Company Cicada Life Cycle

Search around the web. You might find other shops and different varieties of cicadas not found on the sites mentioned above.

Keep in mind that some species might be over-collected to the point where it could endanger a species. I recommend, for that reason, that people limit their collections and not become too obsessed, as one might who collects toys or comic books.

November 12, 2014

New Zealand cicada season

Filed under: New Zealand | Websites — Dan @ 11:25 am

Cicada season in New Zealand begins in November and lasts throughout their Summer months.

The species Maoricicada hamiltoni (Myers, 1926) aka Hamilton’s Cicada, in particular, emerges in November. M. hamiltoni is known for its abundant hair-like setulae (see an image on this page).

Here is a list of the best New Zealand cicada links:

  1. New Zealand Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae): A virtual identification guide (landcareresearch.co.nz) A wonderful web site. Includes a visual identification guide, checklist, and image gallery. Photos of dozens of species.
  2. Cicada Central: New Zealand (uconn.edu) Cicada Central’s New Zealand cicada pages.
  3. Suzy’s World Cicada page (suzy.co.nz) Fun, kid-friendly presentation of cicada information.
  4. An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand (teara.govt.nz) Three paragraphs of information.
  5. Introducing cicadas (teara.govt.nz) Photos, sounds and 4 paragraphs of information.
  6. New Zealand cicadas (troutbum.co.nz)
    Large photos of Kikihia and Amphipsalta.

Here is a nice article about the cicada Sounds of a Kiwi summer:

We have around 40 species of cicada in New Zealand, and probably the most familiar to us is the clapping cicada, which is actually two very closely related species that form the basis of our summer soundtrack in much of the country.

Some cicada New Zealand photos:

January 1, 2014

Websites about the cicadas of Japan

Filed under: Japan | Websites — Dan @ 11:04 am
  1. Cicadae in Japan An excellent resource, including a list of Japanese cicadas, dozens of photos and audio files. AUDIO PHOTOS
  2. Cicada stamps and sculptures from Japan and elsewhere (asahi-net.or.jp) PHOTOS
  3. Japanese insect pictures (mus-nh.city.osaka.jp) Many cicada photos! PHOTOS

General Cicada Information Websites

Filed under: Websites — Dan @ 11:02 am
  1. The Insect Images site has many cicada images.
  2. AMNH Invertebrate Zoology Type Specimens
  3. ITIS has massive listings of cicada species names with mentions of papers that mention the cicadas. Invaluable resource.
  4. What’s that Bug (whatsthatbug.com) Another insect identification site, but this one has an international focus. Many cicada photos. PHOTOS.
  5. Insectclopedia: a large portal of insect links for the purpose of insect research.
  6. Dave’s Garden: Order: Homoptera, Family: Cicadidae (davesgarden.com) About 13 cicada photos from around the world. PHOTOS
  7. Interesting Facts About Cicadas (insectvista.com)
  8. Yahoo! Entomology-Cicadidae Group A Yahoo! Group for discussion of cicadas.
  9. Insect Music (birdnature.com) General information. Mentions an East Indian cicada.
  10. Cicadas in Ancient
    Greece
    (insects.org) Several photos of Greek art, and 28 paragraphs of information. PHOTOS
  11. Flickr has over 36,167 cicada photos. PHOTOS

North American Cicada Websites

Filed under: Canada | Diceroprocta | Platypedia | Tibicen | United States | Websites — Dan @ 10:58 am

These sites contain information about both periodical and annual cicada species:

  1. Oaklahoma Cicadas: exceptional photos of Oklahoma’s 51 cicadas. PHOTOS
  2. Long Island Cicadas: cicadas of Long Island, NY, plus New Jersey and Pennsylvania PHOTOS
  3. Visit Tim McNary’s Bibliography of the Cicadoidea for many, many cicada papers and articles.
  4. Insect Singers. A new site from David Marshall and Kathy Hill featuring dozens of cicada song samples from North America.AUDIO PHOTOS
  5. Cicada Central (uconn.edu) One of the premier cicada sites. Many pictures, maps and information. Superb Magicicada information. PHOTOS MAPS
  6. Singing Insects of North America (ufl.edu) A large site featuring lists of North American species and audio files. PHOTOS AUDIO
  7. Bug Guide (bugguide.net) A massive site devoted insect identification, including an abundance of cicada photos and information. You’ll find Cacama, Diceroprocta, Magicicada (Periodical Cicadas), Neocicada, Neoplatypedia, Okanagana, Pacarina, Platypedia, Tibicen, Beameria and Okanagodes. PHOTOS
  8. Massachusetts Cicadas (www.masscic.org) tremendous cicada site packed with information
    and photos. Dozens of pages of information. Tibicens, Magicicada, Cicada Killer wasps. PHOTOS
  9. Gene Kritsky’s Web Site (msj.edu) Gene Kritsky is one of the worlds foremost cicada researchers. Book him for your next cicada event.
  10. Cicadas of the Mid-Atlantic (cicadas.info) Sighting information for Magicicada and annual cicadas in the Mid-Atlantic region. Yearly cicada reports are available. PHOTOS
  11. Checklist of Cicadas of Kansas (windsofkansas.com, archive.org) A list of species you’ll find in Kansas, references, photos and illustrations. PHOTOS ILLUSTRATIONS
  12. Guide d’identification d’insectes du Quebec (lesinsectesduquebec.com) En Francais. Canicularis and Okanagana rimosa info and photos. PHOTOS AUDIO
  13. Homoptera: cicadas, hoppers, & aphids (ltreadwell.ifas.ufl.edu) Information about the Homoptera order, photos and illustrations. PHOTOS ILLUSTRATIONS
  14. Insect Images (insectimages.org) About 150 North American cicada photos, including Magicicada, Tibicen, Okanagana, and Cacama. PHOTOS
  15. Gordon’s Cicada Page (earthlife.net) A photo and about 10 printed pages worth of solid cicada information. PHOTOS
  16. The University of Michigan Cicada Pages (ummz.lsa.umich.edu, archive.org) The premier North America cicada site, until Cicada Central and Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) came around. Magicicada, Tibicen, Okanagana, Diceroprocta. PHOTOS AUDIO MAPS
  17. Great Lakes Cicada Website (NEW SITE)

Magicicada

  1. Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) is devoted to monitoring emergences and providing Magicicada information. AUDIO PHOTOS MAPS. They have a Facebook page too.
  2. Periodical Cicada (ag.umass.edu) Many nice photos depicting the cicada’s life cycle, and good information. PHOTOS
  3. Periodical Cicadas (biology.clc.uc.edu – link goes to archive.org) A fun and informative periodical cicada page with many excellent photos, recipes and 19 paragraphs of information. PHOTOS
  4. Return of the Cicada! Serious information mixed with humor and silly illustrations. (whyfiles.org) PHOTOS ILLUSTRATIONS
  5. Seventeen Year Cicada (seventeenyearcicada.com) Dozens of Magicicada photos and info. PHOTOS

Tibicen

  1. Annual Cicadas of Arkansas (angelfire.com) Photos and information about Tibicen robinsonianus (formerly T. robinsoniana), Tibicen dorsatus (formerly T. dorsata), Tibicen pruinosus (formerly T. pruinosa), Tibicen lyricen, Tibicen davisi, Tibicen auletes, & Tibicen aurifera. PHOTOS

Diceroprocta

  1. Apache cicada, Diceroprocta apache (fireflyforest.net) A photo and 3 paragraphs of information. PHOTOS
  2. This page features a summary of the Diceroprocta species

Platypedia

  1. Colorado State University Extension cicada page (colostate.edu) Includes a picture of Putnam’s cicada and a paragraph of information within 3 pages of various information about cicadas. PHOTOS

October 6, 2013

Cicada Papers and Documents, PDFs and Images

Filed under: Papers and Documents | Websites — Dan @ 1:41 am

Visit Tim McNary’s Bibliography of the Cicadoidea for many, many more cicada papers and articles.

Biogeography of the Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) of North America, North of Mexico

Author: Allen F. Sanborn 1, and Polly K. Phillips (2013)

North American Cicadas. Features maps. “Abstract: We describe and illustrate the biogeography of the cicadas inhabiting continental North America, north of Mexico. Species distributions were determined through our collecting efforts as well as label data from more than 110 institutional collections.”

File located on cicadamania.com.

North American cicadas (1921)

Author: Davis, William T. (William Thompson), 1862-1945; New York Entomological Society. Journal

North American Cicadas

File located on archive.org.

A monograph of oriental cicadidae (1892)

Author: Distant, William Lucas, 1845-1922

Cicadas of India, Southeast Asia and China

File located on archive.org.

Centre for Entomological Studies Ankara, Cesa News Nr. 55 (January 30, 2010)

Cicadidae of Turkey and some ecological notes on Tibicina serhadensis Kocak & Kemal from Van Province (East Turkey) (Homoptera) — Author: Muhabbet Kemal, Ahmet Omer Kocak, Vildan Bozaci

Cicadas of Turkey

File located on archive.org.

The Periodical Cicada (1907)

Author: C. L. Marlatt

Magicicada periodical cicadas

File located on archive.org.

The periodical cicada in 1914 (1914)

Author: United States. Bureau of Entomology; Marlatt, C. L

Magicicada periodical cicadas

File located on archive.org.

Les Cicadines d’Europe : d’après les originaux et les plus récentes (1875)

Fieber, Franz Xaver, 1807-1872; Metcalf Collection (North Carolina State University). NCRS

Cicadas of Europe

File located on archive.org.

Insecta. Rhynchota. Hemiptera-Homoptera. Volume I (1881-1905)

W. L. Distant and W. W. Fowler

Cicadas of Central and South America

File located on www.sil.si.edu.

Emergence of Prime Numbers as the Result of Evolutionary Strategy (PDF)

Prof. Douglas Galvao of the State University of Campinas

Magicicada periodical cicadas

File located on cicadamania.com.

Genera of American cicadas north of Mexico (1978)

Author: Heath, Maxine Shoemaker

Genera of American cicadas north of Mexico. Note a more recent book (scroll up) has been published in 2013.

File located on archive.org.

Dictionnaire universel d’histoire naturelle: atlas (1861)

Author: Orbigny, Charles Dessalines d’, 1806-1876; Metcalf Collection (North Carolina State University). NCRS

Contains a few cicada illustrations including a Tacua sp.

File located on archive.org.

December 19, 2010

Cigarras do Brasil

Filed under: Brazil | Websites — Dan @ 5:01 pm

If you’re interested in the cicadas of Brazil, and why wouldn’t you be, check out the blog Cigarras do Brasil. Many cool images, including the teeny-tiny Carineta fasciculata.

The site is in Portuguese, but I used Google Translate to grab the description of the blog:

This blog is for those admirers of the insects most beloved (and loudest) of the world. If you’ve ever heard them sing (and liked), have seen their shells in trees, have tried to capture them as a child, this space is yours.

July 27, 2006

Giant Cicada returns to central Texas

Filed under: Quesada | Websites — Tags: — Dan @ 5:01 am

The giant cicada, Quesada gigas, has returned to Texas after 50 years!

Here’s a link:

Giant Cicada / Chicharra Grande

Thanks to Roy Troutman and Mike Quinn.

Bonus:

A large photo of the Giant Cicada (Quesada gigas).

Cicada T-shirts