Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
I updated the Excel file for keeping track of of a Magicicada periodical emergence, which you can download.
This is what it looks like:
It covers the major phases of an emergence:
Animals (including pets) digging for them
Holes & Chimneys appear in your lawn
Nymphs Emerge & Molt
Singing
Chorusing & Wing Flicking
Mating
Egg Laying
Die-off
Flagging of tree foliage
Eggs Hatch
How can you tell if a Magicicada periodical cicada nymph is ready to molt?
Answer: look for two black spots on its back (technically the cephalothorax). They look like they are wearing aviator sunglasses pushed up on their forehead!
I do not know the official name for these spots, but they seem to be related to the pigment that turns the cicadas black after they molt. It is possible that they scare away predators that think the spots are big eyes!
Here’s a few ideas for a name for them:
obscuras maculas
mutatione macularum
Here is a quick way to tell the difference between the 7 periodical cicadas species:
Download this chart. Click/tap is for a larger version:
Then read this and listen to the sound files on the page: Where will 17 & 13 Year Periodical Cicada Broods emerge next?
And/or watch this video:
Cicada researcher and communicator Dr. Gene Kritsky has a new book about Brood XIX and XIII which are both emerging in spring of 2024: A Tale of Two Broods: The 2024 Emergence of Periodical Cicada Broods XIII and XIX. It is available in paperback and Kindle formats.
Other posts about Dr. Gene Kritsky on this site:
Roger McMullan has a new graphic novel about periodical cicadas called Cicadapocalypse. You can obtain a copy from Roger’s online store.
As I understand it, “the book is intended as an introduction to periodical cicadas for curious kids during a cicada emergence by creating a fictional narrative around the cicadas rather than hitting them over the head with facts”. A cicada emergence through the eyes of some shocked and surprised cartoon squirrels.
It looks fun to me.
This is a gallery of Magicicadas on leaves & trees from West Virginia University’s Core Arboretum from the 2013 Brood V emergence.
Visit Gallery #1 for more photos from Brood V.
Click/tap the image for a larger version:
Magicicada septedecula hiding
Magicicada septendecim on a leaf
Magicicada with mustard eyes
Magicicada with pale eyes
Many Exuvia on Oak Leaves
Red and Orange eyes
Teneral Magicicada on leaf
Three Magicicada
Three Magicicada
Three Magicicada
Under A Leaf
Magicicada on leaves
Visit Gallery #1 for more photos from Brood V.
This is a gallery of Magicicadas taken at West Virginia University’s Core Arboretum from the 2013 Brood V emergence.
Click/tap the images for larger versions.
Visit Gallery #1 from more photos From the Core Arboretum, Morgantown, and Brood V.
Magicicada cassini on tree plague:
Magicicada exit chimney:
Magicicada septendecim abdomen:
Magicicada septendecim:
Magicicada with beige eyes:
Magicicada with damaged wings and beige eyes:
Magicicada with slightly orange markings on abdomen could be ‘decula or cassini:
Magicicada with white eyes:
Magicicada with white eyes:
Male Magicicada septendecim abdomen:
Many Magicicada exuvia and corpses:
Visit Gallery #1 from more photos From the Core Arboretum, Morgantown, and Brood V.
Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania Magicicada Emergence Gallery #2.
These images are from 2016, Brood V.
Click/tap the image for a larger version.
Visit Gallery #1 as well.
Many Magicicada on a tree in the shade:
Ovipositing Magicicada septendecim:
Two Magicicada septendecim:
Zombie Cicada. Not Really, just dead:
Visit Gallery #1 as well.
When Roy Troutman visited New Jersey and New York in 2013 for Brood II he took a lot of great cicada photos.
Here is a sample of the best.
Click the images for a larger version.
Also visit Gallery #1 and Gallery #2.
Magicicada molting by Roy Troutman
Magicicada with exuvia by Roy Troutman
Mustard eyed Magicicada septendecim by Roy Troutman
Roy Troutman and Elias Bonaros at the Periodical Cicada display at the American Museum of Natural History, photo by Michelle Troutman
Roy Troutman, John Cooley, Ed Johnson and Dan Mozgai
Teneral Magicada by Roy Troutman
When Roy Troutman visited New Jersey and New York in 2013 for Brood II he took a lot of great cicada photos.
Here is a sample of the best.
Click the images for a larger version.
Visit Gallery #1 and Gallery #3 as well.
John Cooley and Ed Johnson speaking at the Staten Island Museum Six Legged Sex event by Roy Troutman
Light Up Cicada Sculpture at the Staten Island Museum by Roy Troutman
Magicicada septendecim by Roy Troutman
Magicicada cassini flying inbetween calling in Colonia NJ by Roy Troutman
Magicicada cassini in flight in Colonia NJ by Roy Troutman
Magicicada corpses and exuvia by Roy Troutman
Magicicada mating by Roy Troutman
Magicicada exuvia by Roy Troutman
Magicicada septendecim mating by Roy Troutman
Magicicada staring at you by Roy Troutman
