Cicada Mania

J is for Jar Fly. Jar Fly is a colloquial name for Tibicen cicadas.

I don’t know the origin of the term, but I’m guessing it has to do with the fact that kids keep insects in jars.

I is for instar. An instar is a developmental phase in the life of an insect. Each instar marks a change in the abilities and characteristics of the insect. Most cicadas go through five instars; the final instar of a cicada’s life is the adult or imago phase.

An imago is an adult, sexually mature insect. Here’s a photo of Magicicada imagoes:

Insectoverdin is the pigment that that makes insects like cicadas green.

F is for flagging. Flagging is the term for when leaves of a tree die as a result of oviposition (when the cicada lays eggs in the branches of trees).

Photo credit: Daniel Herms, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org (Forestry Images).

The Floury Baker, aka Aleeta curvicosta, is an Australian cicada. It has excellent camouflage, as you can see from the photo:

Photo credit: Michelle Thompson.

Fidicina is a Genus of cicadae. Here is a photo of a Fidicina mannifera from Brazil:

Photo by Leonardo Milhomem.

Formotosena is a Genus of cicada. Here is a photo of a Formotosena montivaga from Thailand:

Photo by Michel Chantraine.

• E is for exuvia. People call them shells, skins, cicada ghosts and a dozen other names, but the proper name for what is left behind when a cicada transforms from a nymph to an adult is an exuvia The plural is exuviae. Also known as Integument.
  
• Egg slits, aka oviposition slits, are the grooves a female cicada makes in a branch in which she will lay her eggs. Here’s a photo of some egg slits and here’s a photo of eggs in a egg slit. Call them oviposition slits if you’re talking to a scientist.
• Emergence can refer to:
  1. When the adult cicada emerges from its exuvia
  2. When the nymph emerges from the ground
  3. Best answer: When and where a particular group of cicadas will emerge, for example, “There will be an emergence of Periodical cicadas around May 15th in the Nashville Tennessee area in 2011.”
• Euterpnosia chibensis is a cicada that exists in Japan. Here are some photos of Euterpnosia chibensis. These cicadas are well known in Japan, and there are 3 sub-species: E. chibensis chibensis, E. chibensis okinawana, and E. chibensis daitoensis. These cicadas look a lot like the North American species Neocicada hieroglyphica.

D is for Dog-Day Cicada. The Tibicen canicularis, aka Dog-Day Cicada, is thought to be known as the Dog-Day Cicada because they are most active during the “dog days of summer”, which are the days when the star Sirius is visible in the Northern Hemishphere (July 3-August 11)¹. Canicularis is derived from the Latin word canis, which means dog. Tibicen davisi is known as the Southern Dog-Day Cicada. Folks use the term “Dog-Day Cicada” for other species of Tibicen as well, but the T. canicularis the true Dog-Day Cicada.

Image of a N. canicularis (on the left) and N. davisi by Paul Krombholz:

Diceroprocta is a genus of cicadas that exist in North America.

• The green and black Diceroprocta vitripennis
• The green, brown and black Diceroprocta olympusa
• The black, cream and white colored Diceroprocta apache, which are well know to residents of Arizona where they hang out on Oleander trees.

Diemeniana euronotiana is a pretty black, orange and red cicada that exists in south-eastern coastal area of Australia². See a photo of a Diemeniana euronotiana.

The Double Drummer aka Thopha saccata is an Australian cicada. It exists on the east coast of Australia and prefers eucalyptus trees². The Double Drummer is a large cicada, as you can see from this photo.

Dundubia is a genus of cicada that exists in Asia. See a photo of a disected Dundbia on Cicada Mania.

1. Dog Days http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dog%20days
2. Australian Cicadas by M.S. Moulds.