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Cicada Mania

About Cicada Mania

Hello!

Errors

This website likely has grammar and factual errors. If you find one, feel free to send me an email: cicadamania@gmail.com.

Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, etc.

Visit the Terms & Conditions page if you are so inclined. I’m sure the website “uses Cookies”, but I don’t do anything with the resulting data other than to see which pages on the site are the most popular.

Dan Mozgai

Dan Mozgai

My name is Dan Mozgai, and Cicada Mania is my website.

Use this email address to contact me: cicadamania@gmail.com.

I usually have time to answer questions via email, Twitter, Facebook, and phone calls. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll refer you to an expert who does.

Some other places to find me: iNaturalist and BugGuide.

Sharing media on the website

Here are some cicada images you are welcome to share.

Here are some tips for the press planning to report on Magicicada periodical cicada emergence — mostly to steer you away from using photos of the wrong species.

Cicada Mania History

2019 will mark Cicada Mania’s 23st year on the web. Here’s what the site looked like back in 1998 two years after its launch. This is the original logo:

Cicada Mania logo/>

Cicada Mania started as an online photo album meant to share photos from the 1996 emergence of Brood II, particularly photos from a friend’s outdoor wedding, where the cicadas were an “uninvited guest”.

The 2004 Brood X emergence was a fantastic time for Cicada Mania: highlights included me appearing on CNN, NPR, and WABC radio, and seeing 50,000 site visitors in one day. Here is a transcript of my CNN appearance.

The 2007 Brood XIII emergence was fantastic as well. I finally got to meet fellow cicada enthusiasts and researchers Roy Troutman, Jerry Bunker, Gene Kritsky and Joe Green. I was also interviewed for Fuji TV.

Cicada Mania currently contains over 1500 photos of cicadas (many high-res), videos, sound clips, a blog, plenty of FAQs and articles, of course, t-shirts and mugs, which are my attempt at funding the site.

Some papers I’ve contributed to:

  • The periodical cicada four-year acceleration hypothesis revisited and the polyphyletic nature of Brood V, including an updated crowd-source enhanced map (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada). Cooley JR, Arguedas N, Bonaros E, Bunker G, Chiswell SM, DeGiovine A, Edwards M, Hassanieh D, Haji D, Knox J, Kritsky G, Mills C, Mozgai D, Troutman R, Zyla J, Hasegawa H, Sota T, Yoshimura J, Simon C. (2018) < PeerJ 6:e5282 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5282
  • Evolution and Geographic Extent of a Surprising Northern Disjunct Population of 13-Year Cicada Brood XXII (Hemiptera: Cicadidae, Magicicada). Gene Kritsky, Roy Troutman, Dan Mozgai, Chris Simon, Stephen M Chiswel, Satoshi Kakishima, Teiji Sota, Jin Yoshimura, John R Cooley. American Entomologist, Volume 63, Issue 4, 12 December 2017, Pages E15—E20, https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmx066
  • Psychoactive plant- and mushroom-associated alkaloids from two behavior modifying cicada pathogens. Authors: Greg R. Boyce, Emile Gluck-Thaler, Jason C. Slot, Jason E. Stajich, William J. Davis, Tim Y.James, John R. Cooley, Daniel G. Panaccione, Jørgen Eilenberg, Henrik H. De Fine Licht, Angie M. Macias, Matthew C. Berger, Kristen L. Wickert, Cameron M. Stauder, Ellie J. Spahr, Matthew D. Maust, Amy M. Metheny, Chris Simon, Gene Kritsky, Kathie T. Hodge, Richard A.Humber, Terry Gullion, Dylan P.G. Short, Teiya Kijimoto, Dan Mozgai, Nidia Arguedas, Matt T. Kasson. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2019.06.002.

Some articles that mention or are about Cicada Mania:

Roy Troutman

Many of the cicada photos and videos on the site come from Roy Troutman. Visit the Roy Troutman page for links to his images and his contact information.

Supporters

Over the years many people have supported this site, including some celebrated people:

  1. Elizabeth McGrath: U.S.A. based artist.
  2. Laura Imbruglia: Aussie singer/songwriter.
  3. Death Cab for Cutie: U.S. rock band.
Categories
Roy Troutman

Roy Troutman

Roy Troutman is a cicada researcher and enthusiast. Roy has contributed hundreds of photos, news articles and videos to this website.

Some papers Roy has contributed to:

  • The periodical cicada four-year acceleration hypothesis revisited and the polyphyletic nature of Brood V, including an updated crowd-source enhanced map (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada). Cooley JR, Arguedas N, Bonaros E, Bunker G, Chiswell SM, DeGiovine A, Edwards M, Hassanieh D, Haji D, Knox J, Kritsky G, Mills C, Mozgai D, Troutman R, Zyla J, Hasegawa H, Sota T, Yoshimura J, Simon C. (2018) < PeerJ 6:e5282 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5282
  • Evolution and Geographic Extent of a Surprising Northern Disjunct Population of 13-Year Cicada Brood XXII (Hemiptera: Cicadidae, Magicicada). Gene Kritsky, Roy Troutman, Dan Mozgai, Chris Simon, Stephen M Chiswel, Satoshi Kakishima, Teiji Sota, Jin Yoshimura, John R Cooley. American Entomologist, Volume 63, Issue 4, 12 December 2017, Pages E15—E20, https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmx066
  • The 2014 emergence of a previously unrecognized 13-year brood of periodical cicadas in southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky. Gene Kritsky, Roy Troutman. November 2014 · Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting 2014; 11/2014

If you are a member of the press, media, etc, and would like to contact Roy, his email address is sbpstudios@gmail.com.

You can get t-shirts and other items with Roy’s photos on them too: Red Eye Magicicada and Blue Eye Magicicada.

Here is a list of galleries featuring Roy’s cicada photos:

Adult Magicicada and Nymph

Here are some of Roy’s videos:

Categories
Cicada Mania Memes

Cicada Fun Page

This page collects most of the fun stuff on the site. Everything on the site is fun, but these are fun on purpose.

Arts and Crafts

A PDF of cicada images you can download for coloring (PDF 1MB)

What it looks like:

Coloring Book

coloring book

Computer Fun

Magicicada cursor Cicada Cursors Magicicada cursor if you like to customize your PC (Windows). Unfortunately, it’s one of those things that only works on Windows.

Technically you can use CSS to make them appear on desktop web pages as well.

Cicada Experiments

Six Cicada Experiments you can perform.

Use the Periodical Cicada Emergence Checklist to track your enjoyment of a periodical cicada emergence.

Memes

2009-2019 meme

I emerged before it was cool!

I only listen to cicadas on vinyl

Keep Calm – They’re Only 17-Year Cicadas Meme.

keep calm

Get the t-shirt and support this website. for Men or Women.

Brood X emerged in 2004, around the same time the iPod silhouette commercials were popular:

Cicada iPod

Cicada iPod

People worry if cicadas are safe to eat, especially for pets.

dogs love cicadas

This is a cartoon of a dog about to eat a cicada

Do you have a cicada sipping on the root of your Xmas tree?

Cicada Christmas

I remember the first time I became aware of Australian cicadas. I made this image. (Cicadas are not marsupials)
Crikey!

People worry if cicadas will spoil their weddings. This is an image of a cicada bride.

Bride

Cicadas on a Plane. There wasn’t much cicada news going on when I made this…

cicadas on a plane

My minions helping to write the blog:

cicadas helping to write the blog

Categories
Australia Brood X Life Cycle Periodical

Cicada Fun with Google Trends

Note: I originally took this article down because embedding Google Trends slowed down the loading of the page. I’m republishing without the embeds.

This article was inspired by Serious Fun with Google Trends by Simon Leather.

Google Trends is a Google website that lets you see trends in the search terms over time. When people search for “cicada” it usually means cicadas have emerged in their area at the time they search.

The following graph shows when people searched for “cicada” over the past 10 years in the United States. The largest spike, in May of 2004, coincided with the emergence of Brood X. See it on Google Trends.

Google Trends 2004-2015

You might think that periodical cicada emergences cause the largest spikes, but not always — and not just because periodical cicadas don’t emerge every year.

2004: Cicada searches spiked May 16-22, which was Brood X — Magicicadas.
2005: Jul 31-Aug 6 spike which was for Neotibicen Cicadas. No periodical cicadas.
2006: Aug 13-19, Neotibicen Cicadas. No periodical cicadas.
2007: May 20-26, Brood XIII — Magicicadas.
2008: Brood XIV Magicicadas emerged (spike Jun 8-14), but the largest spike was Jul 29-Aug 2, Neotibicen Cicadas.
2009: Aug 16-22, Neotibicen Cicadas.
2010: Aug 8-14, Neotibicen Cicadas.
2011: May 29-Jun 4, Brood XIX — Magicicadas.
2012: Jul 29-Aug 4, Neotibicen Cicadas.
2013: May 5-11, Brood II — Magicicadas.
2014: Brood XXII — Magicicadas had a relatively small spike May 25-31, compared with Aug 24-30 for Neotibicen Cicadas (late season due to cool weather). There was also a teeny bit of a spike around January of 2014 due to the “cicada 3301” meme/game.
2015: Brood XXIII & IV Magicicadas emerged (spike around Jun 7-13), but the largest spike was around Aug 9-15 for Neotibicen Cicadas.

Which cities had the most cicada searches over the past 14 years? Nashville, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Arlington, Washington, Alexandria, Pittsburg, St. Louis, Columbus, and Chicago. Time to move to Nashville.

Australia

In Australia, searches for “cicadas” peaks in December (summertime in Australia). It looks like there is a year-over-year pattern arising as well, with peaks every 4 years (2009, 2013, 2017) particularly, if you drill down to New South Wales.

Australia Google Trends

Japan

In Japan, searches for “セミ” peaks in August.

Google Trends Japan

Other countries

  • Argentina peaks in March for cigarra.
  • Brazil peaks in October and April for cigarra.
  • France peaks in July for cigales.
  • Mexico peaks in May or June for chicharra, but October for cigarra.
  • New Zealand peaks in February for cicadas.
  • South Korea peaks in July for 매미.
  • Spain peaks in July for cigarra.

Now I know when to visit these countries. 🙂

Try it yourself.

Categories
Genera Locations

Cicadas In the U.S.A, Canada, World-Wide, by Genus and Tribe

Photos of Cicadas Around the World

There are over 3,390 species of cicadas in the world1. The species on this site represent a fraction of those. Start your journey by choosing a regional link below.

U.S and Canada specific guides:

North American Cicada pages that feature cicada calls:

Cicada A M J J A S O
Beameria venosa aka Aridland Cicada M J J A
Beameria wheeleri M J J
Cacama valvata aka Common Cactus Dodger M J
Cicadettana calliope calliope aka Southern Grass Cicada J J A
Cicadettana camerona M J
Cicadettana kansa M J
Cicadettana texana M J
Clidophleps vagans J
Cornuplura nigroalbata
Cornuplura rudis M J J
Diceroprocta apache aka Citrus Cicada J J A S
Diceroprocta arizona
Diceroprocta aurantiaca J
Diceroprocta averyi
Diceroprocta azteca aka Scrub Cicada J A
Diceroprocta bequaerti
Diceroprocta biconica
Diceroprocta bicosta
Diceroprocta crucifera
Diceroprocta eugraphica J J
Diceroprocta knighti J J
Diceroprocta marevagans J A S
Diceroprocta olympusa aka Olympic Scrub Cicada J J
Diceroprocta ornea
Diceroprocta psophis
Diceroprocta ruatana
Diceroprocta semicincta J J
Diceroprocta swalei swalei J
Diceroprocta texana J J A
Diceroprocta vitripennis aka Green Winged Cicada J J A
Hadoa bifida M J J
Hadoa chiricahua M J J A
Hadoa duryi M J J A
Hadoa inaudita J J A
Hadoa longiopercula
Hadoa parallela J A S
Hadoa simplex M J
Hadoa texana J J A S
Hadoa townsendii M J
Magicicada cassinii aka Cassini 17-Year Cicada* M J
Magicicada neotredecim* M J
Magicicada septendecim aka Linnaeus’s 17-Year Cicada* M J
Magicicada septendecula* M J
Magicicada tredecassini* M J
Magicicada tredecim* M J
Magicicada tredecula* M J
Megatibicen grossus aka Northern Dusk Singing Cicada J A S O
Megatibicen cultriformis aka Grand Western Flood Plain Cicada A S O
Megatibicen dealbatus aka Plains Cicada J A S
Megatibicen dorsatus aka Giant Grassland Cicada J A S
Megatibicen figuratus aka Fall Southeastern Dusk-singing Cicada A S O
Megatibicen harenosus A S
Megatibicen pronotalis pronotalis A S O
Megatibicen pronotalis walkeri aka Walker’s Cicada A S O
Megatibicen resh aka Resh Cicada J A S
Megatibicen resonans aka Southern Resonant Cicada J J A S O
Megatibicen tremulus aka Cole’s Bush Cicada J J A S
Neocicada chisos A M
Neocicada hieroglyphica aka Hieroglyphic Cicada M J J A
Neocicada hieroglyphica johannis M J J
Neoplatypedia constricta M J J
Neotibicen auriferus aka Plains Dog-day Cicada A S
Neotibicen canicularis aka Dog-day Cicada J A S
Neotibicen davisi aka Davis’ Southeastern Dog-Day Cicada A S O
Neotibicen latifasciatus aka Coastal Scissors Grinder Cicada J A S O
Neotibicen linnei aka Linne’s Cicada J A S
Neotibicen lyricen engelhardti aka Dark Lyric Cicada J A S
Neotibicen lyricen lyricen aka Lyric Cicada J J A
Neotibicen lyricen virescens aka Costal Lyric Cicada J J A S O
Neotibicen pruinosus pruinosus aka Scissors Grinder J J A S O
Neotibicen robinsonianus aka Robinson’s Cicada J J A S O
Neotibicen similaris apalachicola J J A S O
Neotibicen similaris similaris aka Similar Dog-Day Cicada J J A S O
Neotibicen superbus aka Superb Dog-Day Cicada J J A
Neotibicen tibicen australis aka Southern Swamp Cicada J J A S
Neotibicen tibicen tibicen aka Morning Cicada J J A S
Neotibicen winnemanna aka Eastern Scissors Grinder J J A
Okanagana balli** J J
Okanagana bella aka Mountain Cicada** J J
Okanagana canadensis aka Canadian Cicada** J J
Okanagana fumipennis** M J J
Okanagana hesperia** J J
Okanagana rimosa rimosa aka Say’s Cicada** M J J
Okanagana synodica synodica aka Walking Cicada** J J
Okanagana utahensis** M J J
Okanagana vanduzeei** J J
Okanagana viridis aka Cotton Green Cicada** J J
Pacarina puella aka Little Mesquite Cicada M J J
Platypedia putnami putnami** M J J
Platypedia similis** A M
Quesada gigas (Olivier, 1790) aka Giant Cicada A M J

*Magicicada are periodical cicadas, so you will only find them every 13 or 17 years.
** Okanagana and Platypedia are often proto-periodical, and do not appear every year, but they are not as predictable as periodical cicadas. Read Guessing at when the next Platypedia or Okanagana hatch will happen and Platypedia putnami survey at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space by Tim McNary.

Cicada by State:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Cicadas by Canadian Provence:

Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan.

Cicadas around the world:

Africa (Continent), Argentina, Asia (Continent), Australia, Bolivia, Borneo, Brazil, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Caribbean, Central America, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Europe (Continent), Fiji, France, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North America (Continent), Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South America (Continent), Spain, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, The Central African Republic, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tibet, Turkey, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zaire

World Wide Cicada Websites:

Periodical cicada forecasts:

There are two known species of periodical cicadas that are not Magicicada . One lives in Chremistica ribhoi in India and the other in Raiateana knowlesi in Fiji.

YEAR! Chremistica ribhoi in India Raiateana knowlesi in Fiji Magicicada in the U.S.
2024 Leap Year brood Brood XIX, Brood XIII
2025 YES Brood XIV
2026 World Cup brood
2027 Brood XXII
2028 Leap Year brood Brood XXIII
2029 Brood I
2030 World Cup brood Brood II
2031 Brood III
2032 Leap Year brood Brood IV
2033 YES Brood V
2034 World Cup brood Brood VI
2035 Brood VII
2036 Leap Year brood Brood VIII
2037 Brood IX, Brood XIX
2038 World Cup brood Brood X
2039
2040 Leap Year brood
2041 YES Brood XIII

Cicada Tribes 2:

Arenopsaltriini, Carinetini, Cicadatrini, Cicadettini, Cicadini, Cosmopsaltriini, Tacuini (Cryptotympanini), Cyclochilini, Dundubiini, Fidicinini, Gaeanini, Hyantiini, Lahudadini, Lamotialnini, Leptopsaltriini, Macrotristriini, Oncotympanini, Parnisini, Platypediini, Platypleurini, Polyneurini, Psaltodini, Psithyristriini, Sonatini, Talaingini, Taphurini, Tettigadini, Thophini, Tibicinini, Tosenini, Zammarini

Cicada Genera:

Afzeliada, Aleeta, Ambragaeana, Amphipsalta, Anapsaltoda, Angamiana, Antankaria, Arenopsaltria, Ariasa, Arunta, Auritibicen, Ayesha, Ayuthia, Balinta, Basa, Beameria, Becquartina, Berberigetta, Cacama, Calliopsida, Callogaeana, Calyria, Carineta, Champaka, Chlorocysta, Chonosia, Chremistica, Chrysolasia, Cicada, Cicadatra, Cicadetta, Cicadettana, Cicadmalleus, Clidophleps, Clinopsalta, Cornuplura, Cosmopsaltria, Cryptotympana, Cyclochila, Cystosoma, Daza, Derotettix, Diceroprocta, Diceropyga, Diemeniana, Distantalna, Dorachosa, Dorisiana, Dundubia, Euryphara, Euterpnosia, Fidicina, Fidicinoides, Formotosena, Gaeana, Graptopsaltria, Hadoa, Hamza, Haphsa, Hemisciera, Heteropsaltria, Hilaphura, Huechys, Hyalessa, Ioba, Kamalata, Kikihia, Koma, Kongota, Lahugada, Lembeja, Leptopsaltria, Lethama, Lyristes, Macrosemia, Macrotristria, Magicicada, Majeorona, Maoricicada, Mata, Maua, Megapomponia, Megatibicen, Meimuna, Miranha, Mogannia, Muansa, Munza, Myopsalta, Neocicada, Neoplatypedia, Neopsaltoda, Neotibicen, Odopoea, Okanagana, Okanagodes, Ollanta, Oncotympana, Orialella, Orientopsaltria, Pacarina, Pachypsaltria, Pauropsalta, Platylomia, Platypedia, Platypleura, Polyneura, Pomponia, Proarna, Procollina, Psaltoda, Psithyristria, Purana, Pycna, Quesada, Raiateana, Salvazana, Semia, Sulphogaeana, Tacua, Talainga, Tanna, Taona, Terpnosia, Tettigades, Tettigarcta, Tettigettalna, Thopha, Tibicen, Tibicina, Tibicinoides, Tosena, Trengganua, Tugelana, Tympanoterpes, Uhleroides, Umjaba, Yanga, Yezoterpnosia, Yoyetta, Zammara

1 The Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha) by Allen F Sanborn. Academic Press. 14th November 2013.

2 Tribe information comes from: MARSHALL, DAVID C. et al.=A molecular phylogeny of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) with a review of tribe and subfamily classification.Zootaxa, [S.l.], v. 4424, n. 1, p. 1-64, may 2018. ISSN 1175-5334. Available at: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4424.1.1.

Categories
Citizen Science FAQs Neotibicen

Looking for adult cicadas at night

Nighttime is often the best time to find cicadas.

Nymphs, generally speaking, emerge soon after sunset. When I look for nymphs, I wait until sunset and start looking around tree roots and on tree trunks. Sometimes it takes hours, but usually, I find one (or many).

Cicada Nymph:
Neotibicen auletes nymph

Adult cicadas are easiest to find on hot, humid nights in well-lit areas like parking lots and the sides of buildings. You will find them clinging to illuminated walls and crawling on sidewalks. They end up on the ground, often because they fly into the wall and stun themselves. On a hot humid night — 85F or above — I’ll find an excuse (usually frozen desserts) to check the walls of the local supermarket for cicadas.

Cicadas, like many insects, are attracted to (or confused by) lights. There are many theories as to why insects are attracted to lights, and the reasons why probably vary by species. My guess (and this is just a guess) is that cicadas can’t tell day from night, or daylight (sun) from artificial lights, and so they think they’re using light to navigate away from a dark area (a tree trunk, dense brush), and then get very confused because they never seem to get anywhere once they reach the source of the light. I wish I could ask a cicada why.

Prime nighttime cicada location: a well-lit building and macadam parking lot:
Nighttime prime cicada location

Cicadas can damage their skin and innards by fling into and bouncing off walls:
Nightime N linnei with wound

A Neotibicen tibicen clinging to a cinderblock wall:
Nighttime N tibicen on wall

A Megatibicen auletes crawling on an illuminated sidewalk:
Megatibicen auletes in Manchester NJ

If you go looking for cicadas at night, make sure you have permission to be where you plan to look. Don’t trespass, and have respect for other people’s property.

Categories
Citizen Science Molting Neotibicen

Tips for making a time-lapse video of a cicada molting

Molting Morning Cicada

Time-lapse videos of insects molting can be as visually fascinating as they are scientifically important. Cicadas are amongst the best insect subjects for time-lapse because they’re relatively large, and depending on where you live, easy to find.

Equipment you’ll need for your time-lapse video:

  1. Lights. I use cheap LED and fluorescent lights. Not enough light and you’ll end up with a grainy video. Too much light and you’ll over-expose the subject and miss some important details. You’ll need a stand or tripod for your lights as well.
  2. A tripod for your camera. You want your camera to be as steady as possible. Hand-holding the camera is not recommended. The molting process takes hours.
  3. A camera. Some cameras have a Time-Lapse mode, but you could also take a photo every 30 seconds or so and use software to assemble the photos into a video. A camera with a large view screen is recommended so you can make adjustments to the lighting and framing of the insect.
  4. A platform for your cicada/insect. If you film outside use the tree the insect decides to molt on. If you film inside, build a structure using tree branches, or other materials the nymph can anchor onto.
  5. Video editing software. Free software works fine, as long as it lets you compile a series of photos into a single video.

I made my own platform out of some driftwood and a 2×4 I had lying around. Cheap but effective. Cicadas need to hang perpendicular to the ground so their wings will properly expand, so your creation needs to allow for that. A lot of people simply use a roll of paper towel.

Rig for Filming cicadas

Skills you’ll need to practice

  1. Patience. Unless you’re a pro who films wildlife all the time, you might need a few tries to get it right.
  2. Learn how to use the Time-Lapse feature of your camera.
  3. Learn how to light a small subject like a cicada.
  4. The ability to stay up late. The entire molting process can take up to 5-6 hours, especially if you want to let the cicada’s wings and body harden a bit. Coffee or tea helps (you, not the cicada).

If you’ve never tried filming a cicada molting before, you can practice lighting, focusing and using the time-lapse features of your camera with a paper model of a cicada. Just draw a cicada onto a small piece of paper, and pin it to a tree. If you know origami, even better.

Finding a specimen

I begin looking for cicada nymphs about 15 minutes after sunset. I find them at the base of trees, or ascending tree trunks. If you plan on filming indoors, or on a custom platform, treat the cicada with care. Be very gentle, and place the cicada nymph in a spacious enclosure — preferably one that allows it to grip, and hang off the side. I transport cicadas in a pop-up butterfly pavilion/habitat — these portable enclosures are made for butterflies, but they work well for other insects, like cicadas. Don’t forget to release the cicada the following day as well.

The overall process for shooting indoors

  1. Set up your rig: platform, lights, camera. Make sure your camera has an empty memory card in it and is charged/plugged in. Make sure all the lights are working. Place a towel or something soft at the base of the platform, in case the cicada falls (it happens).
  2. Collect your specimen. Bring a flashlight and a butterfly pavilion (or similar container). Gently grab the cicada nymph with your fingers and place in the container. do not collect a cicada that has already begun molting. Take some (not a lot) of tree branches with you. You can use the branches to augment your platform.
  3. Place the cicada at the base of the platform. Let it explore and become comfortable. Place it back at the base of the platform if it falls or wanders off.
  4. Once the cicada is ready to molt, it will stay still for a while. This is a good time to get your camera in focus and lights in the right position.
  5. The skin of the back of the nymph will split — look and listen for that. Start time-lapse filming. Example.
  6. Re-frame the camera as necessary to capture the cicada’s wings as they inflate.
  7. An hour after the cicada’s wings move into place (see that happen), you can stop filming, and place the cicada into the safety of the butterfly pavilion — or on a tree outside.
  8. Return the cicada to the outdoors within 12 hours.
  9. Use video editing software to compile the time-lapse frames into a video. I set each frame to 0.2 seconds — experiment with the times.
  10. Add the species of the cicada, the location where you found it, and other comments to the video.
  11. Share your video with friends, family and the world.

More tips:

  • The process takes a long time — you might be up until 1 or 2 am in the morning. Be prepared for that.
  • Film some non-time-lapse video as well. There are key moments during the molting process that happen quickly, like when the cicada pulls its abdomen from its old skin. Having a video of that is nice.
  • Be prepared to adjust the framing and focus a few times during the shoot. Don’t adjust too much though — just if the cicada’s wings fall out of frame.
  • The cicada will double its overall size. Its wings will hang downward. Be prepared for that when you frame the shot.

Some results:

My latest time-lapse video:

Notice how I frame the video.

A non-time-lapse detail:

A video where I used a tree branch to make the molting look more natural

Categories
Cordyceps Diceroprocta Matt Kasson

Cordyceps infected Citrus Cicadas

Here’s another fungi story coming from the WVU Kasson Lab: Cordyceps infected Citrus Cicadas (Diceroprocta apache).

The story goes like this: because of Ed Yong’s article about the Massospora fungus that infects cicadas, someone sent the Kasson Lab photos, and then samples, of Diceroprocta apache (Citrus Cicadas) infected with a different type of fungus: Cordyceps. Looks like the lab is going to study this fungus, and I’m sure they’ll produce a paper.

Categories
Cicada Killer Wasps Matt Kasson Ophiocordyceps

Ophiocordyceps infected Cicada Killer Wasp

Graduate students at the West Virginia University’s Kasson Laboratory discovered a Cicada Killer Wasp (Sphecius speciosus) infected with Ophiocordyceps (a type of fungi). Ophiocordyceps can also infect cicadas.

Categories
Megatibicen Tacuini (Cryptotympanini) U.S.A.

Megatibicen resh aka the Resh Cicada

Megatibicen resh (formerly Neotibicen resh and Tibicen resh) is commonly known as the Resh Cicada because the markings on its back resemble the Hebrew symbol Resh “ר”. The Resh Cicada has been documented to be found in Arkansas, Kansas, Lousiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennesee, and Texas.

Most people will discover them by finding their exuvia (shed skins, “shells”) on trees, or by their striking calls at sunset. I first encountered this cicada in Dallas, Texas near Pioneer Plaza (cattle sculptures). First I found the exuvia on oak trees (I needed a 3′ stick added to my 8′ reach to knock them down), and then at sunset I heard their call (which I mistook for M. auletes (which is not in Texas)). Listen to their song.

It is one of the smaller Megatibicen — maybe only M. dealbatus is smaller. Compare sizes using this image by Kathy Hill. Its compound eyes are gray-beige, with a black “mask” between the eyes, and its simple eyes are pink. Its ventral side is white and caramel colored. Its dorsal side is dominated by a light green color, with black, brown and white — forming a symmetrical camouflage pattern — which helps to hide the cicada in its arboreal habitat. Recently molted, golden pruinose shimmers on its head, pronotum, mesonotum, and abdomen.

Megatibicen resh molting adult

During the molting process, up until the cicada’s body sclerotizes (hardens), the cicada’s body is leaf-green (camouflaged like a hanging leaf).

Megatibicen resh spreading wings 2

The exuvia of the Resh cicada is large and easy to spot, even high up in trees. Even though molted adults are closer in size to N. tibicen than M. auletes, the exuvia of M. resh is comparable to M. auletes, which is the largest cicada in North America.

Resh Auletes and Tibicen

More photos from this series: Megatibicen resh gallery.