Be on the lookout for Brood XIV stragglers. A few Magicicada that didn’t emerge in 2008 should appear in 2009! Keep your eyes and ears peeled.
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Cicada Pull Toy
Today I found this cicada-shaped toy in my mail.
Thanks Roy Troutman!
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Fantastic Magicicada Tattoo
Take a look at Kate’s Magicicada tattoo. It is fantastic!
New cicada photos from Santisuk Vibul’s in Thailand.
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Cicada Products
Thanks to Roy for this link to wholesale manufacturers and their cicada-related goods. My favorite is the Canned Jinchan.
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Bagpipe Cicada
This is a photo of the amazing Bagpipe cicada (Lembeja paradoxa) was taken by Timothy Emery (David Emery’s son).
Attached is a photo taken by my son, Timothy Emery from Thursday Island, Torres Strait off Cape York, Queensland. This a male “bagpipe cicada” (Lembeja paradoxa) singing for his female. These guys at rest look like dead leaves with wings folded under stems of grass, but when singing at dusk, rush up the stems and can expand their abdomens incredibly up to 5-10 x resting size (hence the bagpipe bit) and emit a very loud droning sound for their size. A great emergence of these on Thursday Island in the first 2 weeks of January.
The Bagpipe cicada can be found in the Northern tip of Queensland, from October to February, but they’re most common during January. (Moulds, M.S.. Australian Cicadas Kennsignton: New South Wales Press, 1990, p. 178)
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delicious cicadas
Cicadas: it’s what’s for dinner!
David Marshall and Kathy Hill have discovered that a particular species of katydid mimics the wing-flick of female cicadas to lure male cicadas to their certain doom.
We have found that predatory Chlorobalius leucoviridis katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) can attract male cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) by imitating the species-specific wing-flick replies of sexually receptive female cicadas. This aggressive mimicry is accomplished both acoustically, with tegminal clicks, and visually, with synchronized body jerks. Remarkably, the katydids respond effectively to a variety of complex, species-specific Cicadettini songs, including songs of many cicada species that the predator has never encountered.
Read the entire research article: Versatile Aggressive Mimicry of Cicadas by an Australian Predatory Katydid.
Here’s something special. Roy Troutman has uploaded some HD quality videos of Magicicadas to YouTube. Click the links to see the full-size versions.
Periodical Cicada sitting on leaf in HD:
Periodical Cicada’s heart pumping in HD:
Here’s a Brood XIV Roy created as well:
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Cicada Stuff
Various cicada pins, lures and other items I’ve collected over the years.
Cicada magnets, key-rings, pens, buttons, pins, fishing lures, etc.