Cicada ManiaHere’s something for Windows users: cicada cursors.
If you like to customize your PC, you can swap out your cursor with a cursor shaped like a cicada. 
Download the cicada cursor it today (download and unzip).
Here’s a tutorial for changing your cursor.
I have no idea if you can change the cursor on a Mac or mobile device.
Update! Try the new Magicicada cursor (.cur file in .zip file)! 
Brood XXII will next emerge in the year 2027.
This Brood last emerged in 2014.
Magicicada Brood XXII, the Baton Rouge Brood, exists in Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as Ohio and Kentucky, in 2014.
Some Brood XXII facts:
According to the Cicada Central Magicicada Database(RIP):
A lot of folks ask if they will appear in Orleans parish, but I haven’t seen evidence for that. However, there is no reason why you couldn’t start looking there, have some gumbo and fancy drinks, and then head north towards Baton Rouge.
These cicadas often appear where they aren’t expected and are absent where they are expected. So, keep an eye and ear out for them, but don’t be too disappointed if they don’t show up in your town.
Notes from 2014:
Update June 19: Signs of flagging from cicada egg laying are showing up.
Update (5/23): with folks reporting in from both Louisiana and Mississippi, it’s fair to say the emergence is in full swing. Go out and enjoy them while they’re still around.
Update (5/13): we’ve heard the first report that the cicadas have started singing! In Denham Springs, at least.
Update (5/5): the first confirmed Magicicada exuvia (shells/skins) have been found, as reported by Dave Marshall. It’s been a slow start thanks to a cold spring and cool soil temperatures.
Update (4/26): the first sightings have appeared on Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org). If you see (or heard) one of these cicadas, report it. And then share it via Twitter, YouTube, Flickr or Facebook so we can all check it out.
Brood III will next emerge in 2031.
This page was last updated in 2014.
Magicicada Brood III (3), the Iowan Brood, will emerge in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, in the spring of 2014.
Update for 6/18: It has been great to see so many people are enjoying the emergence. I bolded the names of the counties below, where people have reported emergences in the comments.
Update for 5/31: Cicadas have been reported in Dallas, Union, and Warren counties in Iowa, and Mercer County in Missouri.
Update for 5/30: Greg Holmes reported on the Entomological-Cicadidae Yahoo Group that Donald Lewis, entomologist at Iowa State University, has a report of periodical cicadas from north of Burlington, IA. With air temperatures in the mid 80s for the next 6 days, the soil should be warm enough to coax more cicadas from the ground. Rain may slow the emergence, though.
Some Brood III facts:
According to the Cicada Central Magicicada Database(RIP):
If you follow Cicada Mania, you’ve probably heard about the regularly scheduled emergences in Louisiana and Mississippi (Brood XXII); in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois (Brood III); and the (micro) brood in Ohio and Kentucky, BUT, there could be other Magicicada emerging around the USA.
Magicicada cicadas often straggle from the times they are expected to emerge. This can happen due to overcrowding (too many cicadas underground can delay the development and emergence of some). It could also be a natural thing they do — maybe some accelerate from a 17 year to 13 year life cycle, or back, to form new populations or as a strategy for survival. Most of the time they straggle in 1 year or 4 year intervals. Here is were I would expect to see stragglers.
Check our broods page for more precise locations and information.
This chart, courtesy of Chris Simon, details the probability for straggling:
If you see any stragglers, report them to Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org), so they can be mapped and studied. It looks like some Brood IV stragglers are showing up in the Kansas City area!
Of course, we’re only talking about the black & orange & red-eyed Magicicada here…
…not other species like Tibicen or Okanagana.
Magicicadas with a 13-Year life-cycle are emerging in Ohio & Kentucky, along the Ohio river, in 2014. This particular group of periodical cicadas last emerged in 2001 and 1988.
July 17th: I got confirmation from Dave Marshall and John Cooley that the ‘decim in the brood are Magicicada tredecim!
June 5th: Roy Troutman and I completed 3 days of cicada mapping in Ohio and Kentucky. This map includes our findings, Gene Kritsky’s findings and sightings submitted to Gene from local residents.
June 4th: Audio of a Magicicada tredecula call from the Ohio/Kentucky brood.
June 3rd: I spent the last last two days looking for cicadas in Ohio and Kentucky with Roy Troutman. Mostly ‘cassini, some ‘decula, and a very small amount of ‘decims. We found ‘cassini chorusing in Mason, KY, in the west, and so far as south as Neurls Run, KY. JoAnn White & Monte Lloyd’s paper 17-Year cicadas emerging after 18 years: A new brood?1 mentioned emergences in the Mason location, going back to 1975 (three 13 year generations ago).
May 31th: Cicadas are reported to be “loud and plentiful” in the Germantown KY area, as well as, Harrison county KY.
May 30th: Roy Troutman confirmed that ‘decula, ‘cassini and ‘decim type Magicicada have emerged in Ohio.
May 23th: Gene Kritsky wrote to let us know that “the emergence is now in full swing” in Ohio and Kentucky.
May 15th: Roy Troutman sent us a set of photos from Crooked Run Nature Preserve in Chilo, Ohio.
May 14th: Roy Troutman has reported that the emergence began last night in Chilo, OH according to a Clermont County Parks director. Cool weather this week (in the thirties!) will likely prevent more cicadas from emerging until next week (highs in 80s).
April 30th: Scientists ask for public’s help verifying cicadas hidden brood. Note: if you send your photos in to Dr. Kritsky, make sure Geo-Tag (Android) or Camera Location Services (iPhone) is turned on.
April 28th: Roy Troutman discovered cicada turrets, confirming the 2014 emergence of these cicadas.
More:
I know what you’re thinking: are these cicadas part of Brood XXII? Time and research will tell. Brood XXII emerges in Louisiana and Mississippi, which are geographically isolated from Ohio & Kentucky, so the two groups of cicadas are likely to be genetically distinct (belonging to different mitochondrial haplotype groups at least). That said, Brood II, which emerges mostly along the east coast of the U.S., also emerges in Oklahoma, which is geographically isolated from the rest of that brood. So, the Ohio/Kentucky cicadas could logically be part of brood XXII.
Back in 2001 Roy Troutman, Les Daniels and Gene Kritsky reported this group of cicadas to Cicada Mania. Les reported both cassini and decim.
My guess is these cicadas are somehow descended from Brood X or Brood XIV 17-year cicadas, and that if they are 13-year cicadas.
I wrote Roy for a list of towns where these cicadas emerged in 2001, and he said:
Chilo, OH
Cold Springs, KY
Higginsport, OH
Neville, OH
New Richmond, OH
Point Pleasant, OH
Ripley, OH
Utopia, OH
Woodland Mound Park, Cinncinati, OH
View OH/KY 13 Year Brood in a larger map
Check out the paper 1 White, J., and M. Lloyd. 1979. 17-Year cicadas emerging after 18 years: A new brood? Evolution 33:1193-1199. It was the first to document this odd brood of cicadas, although it did not mention the 13 year periodicity.
Chremistica umbrosa can be found in South-East Asia, in particular Singapore. If you go to see them, bring an umbrella. I don’t know why these cicadas pee this often, but I imagine they are eliminating some toxin or waste or chemical (sugar, perhaps) that is not good for them.
Watch the videos:
YouTube has lots of videos of cicadas. Here is a playlist of one of the prettiest North American cicadas, Tibicen superbus:
Tibicen superbus, aka the Superb Cicada, can be found in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
There are many myths (widely held but false beliefs or ideas) about cicadas. Time to bust some cicada myths.
There’s a popular meme that [mis]states the following “if cicadas can sleep for 17 years and then wake up only to scream and reproduce so can i”. The actual tweet doesn’t say “reproduce”, but I want to keep it clean.
American periodical cicadas aren’t sleeping the entire 17 years they’re underground. Much of the time they’re digging tunnels and building feeding cells, tapping into roots and feeding, vying with other cicadas for space along a crowded root system, growing (they experience four phases or instars while underground), avoiding unfavorable conditions like flooding, and possibly actively avoiding predators like moles and voles. Yes, cicadas can sleep — or at least the insect version of sleep called torpor — but they are definitely not asleep for 17 years.
That said cicadas do spend their time screaming (the males) and procreating once above ground.
This is false. Only three species, out of the thousands of cicada species in the world, have a 17-year life cycle: Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini, and Magicicada septendecula.
This is false. Only seven species in the United States (belonging to the genus Magicicada), and a few species in Asia (belonging to the genus Chremistica 1) have been confirmed to have periodical life cycles and synchronized emergences.
All other species of cicadas emerge annually, although in some years they are more plentiful than in others.
Many cicadas live a prime number of years, but some do not. Chremistica ribhoi, the World Cup cicada, has four year life cycle.
American periodical cicadas have avoided gaining an animal predator that specifically predates them, but they haven’t avoided a fungus. Massospora cicadina is a fungal parasite of Magicicada cicadas.
That said, just about any animal will eat an American periodical cicada, so they definitely get eaten. They get eaten a lot.
It is true that some cicadas can make noise by stridulation, making sound by rubbing body parts.
However, and this is a huge “however”, the sound cicadas are known for is made by organs found in male cicadas called tymbals. Tymbals are a pair of ribbed membranes, that produce the cicada’s sound when they are flexed in and out by muscles. The mechanism is like the popping sound made when the plastic of a soda pop bottle is flexed in and out.
Cicadas can also make sound by flicking or clapping their wings.
This is false. Cicadas lack the mouthparts to chew and swallow vegetable matter. Your tomatoes are safe around cicadas. Rather than eating solid food, cicadas ingest xylem, which is a type of tree sap that cicadas drink through their straw-like mouthparts.
Cicadas are not locusts. Locusts are a form of grasshopper. People confuse cicadas with locusts because both insects aggregate in massive numbers.
This is an image of a locust:
| Characteristic | Locust | Cicada |
|---|---|---|
| Order | Orthoptera | Hemiptera |
| Hind Legs | Giant hind legs for jumping | Hind legs about the same size as other legs; great for climbing and perching. |
| What they eat | Everything green they can find to eat | Xylem sap |
| They’re in your town | All the plants in your town have been stripped bare | Cool UFO movie soundtrack sounds during the day |
This is the most mythical of cicada myths and has no basis in fact. That said, here’s the W:
This is not true. Many cicadas emerge outside of summer months.
Summer in the northern hemisphere is June 20-September 22, and in the southern hemisphere December 21-March 20 (although, I see references that say Sep 1 – November 30 in Australia).
Many species of cicadas emerge and peak before June 20th in the United States, including Magicicada periodical cicadas, and favorites of fly fishers like Okanagana and Platypedia. I see a lot of cicada merchandise (shirts, tote-bags) that claim Magicicada broods emerge in the summer, but this is 100% false. They are Spring cicadas.
The cicada season in Australia usually begins in September with the emergence of Bladder Cicadas, making it a springtime cicada.
1 Hajong, S.R. 2013. Mass emergence of a cicada (homoptera: cicadidae) and its capture methods and consumption by villagers in the ri-bhoi district of Meghalaya. Department of Zoology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong — 793 022, Meghalaya, India.
Want to meet other cicada fans, help with cicada science projects, or simply check out cicada photos, images, or video? Try these projects and links.
In 2014, contribute your Magicicada/Periodical/17 & 13 Year cicada sightings to Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org). They will add your report to their Google map.
→ Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org)
Want to participate in a cicada community science project? Check out the cicada science projects on Cicada Central. There is the The Simon Lab Nymph Tracking Project and a Magicicada Biology Class Exercise.
If you are in Ohio or Kentucky and spot a periodical cicada this year (2014), send a geo-tagged cellphone photo to Gene Kritsky.
Your Wild Life wants your dead cicadas! They will use them to study the effects of urbanization (pollution, etc.) on the cicadas.
Use hash tags like #cicadas for general cicada issues. Use @cicadamania to get my attention.
Once you’re done reporting your cicada sighting to magicicada.org, head over to Facebook to discuss your cicada experiences.
→ Cicada Mania Discussion Board on Facebook
Share your cicada photos and videos with the world:
→ Cicada Photos Group on Flickr
→ Cicadas on Pinterest (note, there’s no guarantee just photos of cicadas will show up)
Cicada Mania Videos and Audio:
Update:
If you want to tag a species, you can use what’s called a “machine tag” or “triple tag” (see Wikipedia article on Tags).
taxonomy:binomial=Magicicada tredecim
taxonomy:binomial=Magicicada neotredecim
taxonomy:binomial=Magicicada tredecassini
taxonomy:binomial=Magicicada tredecula
If you’re tagging on sites that use spaces instead of commas (like flickr) put them in quotes when you enter them.
Here’s a cicada I never thought I would see, but thanks to Raghu Ananth, here are two photos of a Tosena sibyla Gaeana atkinsoni.
This photo was taken on May 2nd, 2009:
Note the characteristic double stripes on the forewings. Note how the smaller stripe doesn’t make it all the way to the claval fold.
Here are observations about this cicada provided by Raghu Ananth:
Brief description –
The cicada has red eyes, red thorax with black patch above, red abdomen, black wings with yellow veins and a large yellow patch lines on the wings.Numbers. found – several dozens.
Habitat – tree barks near forest path
length – 4-5 cmsThe orange-red coloured cicada is one of the beautiful cicadas in the forests. It has a red body, red eyes and black wings with yellow patches. During one of our trips to the evergreen forests in the Uttara Kannada district (Karnataka), we spotted two of them camouflaged on the bark of each tree, actively walking up and down and then appearing a colourful red when in flight from one bark of the tree to another. Their singing, however, seemed not in sync with each another. On our approach, they would try to hide behind the bark or fly to a distant tree.
This illustration of a T. sibylla Gaeana atkinsoni comes from the document A monograph of oriental cicadidae (1892) by W. L. Distant.
Updated (5/8/2014) with a video by Harinath Ravichandran: