Cicada ManiaWe received a report of Magicicadas being heard in the fall. Normally Magicicadas appear in the spring of course, but they might be tricked into emerging later if a dormant tree is revived.
My speculation: maybe the warm fall weather has tricked them into thinking it is spring.
I have no visual or audio evidence for you.
It’s September in the USA. The cicadas are done singing in my state (Jersey), and most of the USA. More fun next year for sure.
Thanks to Jaime for this pic of two cicadas mating:
Here’s some cicada videos Phoebe found on YouTube:
cicada singing, then crawling:
cicada singing, good side view:
Cicada mystery movement: What are they up to?
And from Japan セミã®ç”Ÿæ…‹: cicadas mating:
This one I can’t figure out, mostly because it’s well dead. Sheri T. took the photo.
The yellow eyes might be due to its postmortem condition, but they do make the specimen interesting.
Brian Baldwin sent over some cicada photos for an ID. Here’s my guesses (below). If you have a more accurate guess, post it in the Comments.
Megatibicen dorsatus (formerly T. dorsata):
At first I thought T. walkeri, but now I’m leaning towards Brain’s guess of N. superbus. This would be the first superbus with a brown mesonotum that I’ve ever seen.:
Megatibicen dealbatus (formerly dealbata):
I snagged a couple of Tibicen today.
A colorful Tibicen tibicen (T. chloromerus, T. chloromera):
and a, um… lyricen, maybe (I’ve never seen one quite like this):
They were still moving a little when I took the photos.
Gerry Bunker has published an online guide to Pinning, Labeling and Preserving Your Cicadas. This is excellent information if you plan to start a collection.
Over the years Roy Troutman has supplied Cicada Mania with many excellent macro photos of cicadas. Fans of macro photography will also appreciate these photos by Todd Quinn, and Vic Fazio’s Tibicen dorsatus.
And just for the heck of it, here’s a list of insect ID websites:
Bug Guide, Insect Identification, What’s that Bug.
Normally I can get the ID of a cicada fairly quickly, thanks to folks like Gerry and Paul Krombholz. Aside from Locusts, the insect most people confuse with cicadas is the Sphinx Moth.
Hey!
I was interviewed by the Newark Star Ledger for their Jersey Blogs section.
Tom Lehmkuhl send us this photo of an uninvited house guest (Tibicen linnei):
Last night at about 9:30 PM I opened our back door to let our dog out and
thought I felt something brush against my leg while the door was open. Next
think I know my wife is screaming in the living room as a cicada is bombing
around the room like a drunk pilot! It’s amazing how big a cicada looks
when it is flying indoors, bouncing off of your walls, wings buzzing…After several passes within a few inches of my wife’s head, he (she?) came
to rest on our kitchen floor. Carefully using a small glass and a post card
I was able to capture the cicada and set it free. The next morning he was
right where I left him the night before, sitting on our porch, so it seemed
like a good opportunity to snap a photo. See attached…
Iván Jesus Torresano García sent us another 44 photos of Tibicen plebejus aka Lyristes plebejus, and several YouTube videos.
Some YouTube videos:
Momento en el que finaliza de emerger Cicada 27/June/2007.
Tibicen plebejus recién cogida del parque Forestal EntrevÃas:
Tibicen plebejus recogida del parque.Emergiendo.27/June/2007
Lyristes plebejus or Tibicen plebejus?Emerging 27/June/2007.
Here’s a cicada news cast from Spain: