Cicada ManiaCicada t-shirt of the day: Cicada Summer.
Periodical cicadas will be dead before summer.
Time to enjoy the summertime cicadas that few people know exist. Do you need a t-shirt that needs at least 15 minutes of explanation? What’s a cicada? What is it drinking? What does it have a wasp swatter (search for Cicada Killer Wasp)? What does MPF stand for (Massospora Protection Factor)? Embrace the weird.
Charles Lester Marlatt is the most well-known Magicicada researcher of all time. He spent the late 19th and early 20th-century researching periodical cicadas and establishing the location of their broods. Marlatt is responsible for the concept of broods and the name Magicicada (he thought the cicadas were Magical).
The illustrations contained in his publications make excellent decorations that you can color and make crafts with.
Download a free PDF of Magicicada illustrations that you can print out and color and festoon around your house or classroom.
Sources:
More cicada activities:
Massospora cicadina is a fungus that infects Magicicada cicadas. They contract it when they are still in the soil, and then spread it during sex as adults. It contains amphetamine and it sends the cicadas into a mating frenzy. It makes males behave like female cicadas. It replaces their butt-ends with a white chalky fungal substance.
Matt Kasson, PhD, of West Virginia University wants you to share the fungus-infected cicadas with him.
If you post a photo of a Massospora-infected cicada on iNaturalist, tag him @mperfectfunguy.
If you post a photo of the same thing on Twitter, tag him @ImperfectFunGuy.
Got a sack of fungus-infected cicadas? He might want them.
Here’s the text from his post on Twitter/X:
‼️ ATTENTION ‼️ It’s #EarthDay2024 and we need your help finding / collecting Massospora-infected zombie cicadas for research so please share and RT! Illustration????by Molly Sherlock.
If you somehow missed it, trillions of cicadas are beginning their emergence across the Midwest and Southern U.S. This is a rare double emergence of both 13-year and 17-year cicadas, both of which are known hosts of the zombie cicada fungus, Massospora cicadina!
We are hoping to collect many infected cicadas as possible, especially infected 13-year cicadas as we only have three total specimens in our collection and none from Brood XIX.
The best way to help is to upload your observations in either
@inaturalist
or
@CicadaSafari
. You can also tag me in Massospoara cicadina iNat posts (
@imperfectfunguy
). DMs are also open here for inquiries about next steps.Receiving a heads up is as important as receiving actual specimens so no observation is insignificant.
Look for a chalky white fungal plug of M. cicadina emerging from the back of the abdomen on infected adults. Unlike many insect pathogens, Massospora does not kill its host so you will observe infected cicadas among a larger population of healthy cicadas.
He’s worth following on Twitter/X because it posts a lot of wild photos and illustrations like this.
More about Massospora:
Massospora papers:
I created a 2024 North American Proto-Periodical & Annual Cicada Location Project on iNaturalist.
Why?
1) Because the periodical cicadas get all the spotlight… that said do sign up for the 2024 Magicicada: Broods XIII and XIX iNaturalist project.
2) Because the 2023 project was a success.
What is it about?
2024 North American Proto-Periodical and Annual Cicadas
This project will document the location of cicada species that emerge semi-annually and annually* in North America.
2024 is a huge year for Periodical Cicadas (Magicicada Broods XIX and XIII) so it is very useful to track other types of cicadas lest they be lost in the frenzy of attention for the Periodicals.
Cicada genera of North America include: Beameria, Cacama, Cicadettana, Clidophleps, Cornuplura, Diceroprocta, Hadoa, Megatibicen, Neocicada, Neoplatypedia, Neotibicen, Okanagana, Okanagodes, Pacarina, Platypedia (Proto-Periodical), Quesada and Tibicinoides. There are over 200 species of cicada in North America that emerge annually or semi-annually.
Note: *Cicadas that emerge every 13 or 17 years are known as “Periodical cicadas” because they emerge periodically. In North America the genus that emerges periodically is Magicicada. Some species like Platypedia have a prototypical periodicity to their emergences, but it is usually due to influences like weather events or overpopulation underground rather than a predictable number of years.
There is a new cicada book emerging in August or September of 2024 called The Cicadas of North America Book by the author and illustrator Chris Alice Kratzer.
You can order it online.
Another cicada t-shirt that you can buy is Massospora Activated!
What is the meaning of this?! Well, Magicicada periodical cicadas contract a fungus called Massospora cicadina during sexual contact. It turns their rumps into a white chalky mess and sends them into a mating frenzy.
Learn more about Massospora cicadina:
On Zazzle now, you can get the Frozen Cicada t-shirt.
I use this image when periodical cicadas emerge and then the weather gets cold, occasionally killing them or sending them into a state of torpor.
Not quite frozen, but here’s a story about some sub-50 degrees Fahrenheit cicada blues: Rainy day Magicicada behavior.
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. They may scare away predators that think the spots are big eyes!
Here are a few ideas for a name for them:
obscuras maculas
mutatione macularum
News from Vivek Sarkar! A new cicada species, Becquartina bicolor, has been discovered in India.
This also marks the first time a cicada of the genus Becquartina was discovered in India.
Photos courtesy and copyright of Vivek Sarkar. Note the variation in colors.
From Vivek:
I am thrilled to share with you the latest development in our research endeavors here in India. We have recently uncovered an astonishing new cicada species from the genus, marking its inaugural appearance in India. This significant discovery was made independently within the mysterious forests of Garo Hills and Ri Bhoi district, igniting a sense of wonder in the realm of biodiversity exploration and shedding light on the untapped potential of Meghalaya’s diverse ecosystems.
As you are aware, cicadas in India have been a long-standing subject of neglect, with studies stagnating since the early 20th century. Despite boasting the world’s highest generic diversity of cicadas, their biology remains largely unexplored within India. With the unveiling of four new species in Meghalaya (including this one), alongside four additional additions to India’s cicada diversity since 2020, these forests continue to unveil new marvels.
Here is a link to the paper by Vivek Sarkar, Rodeson Thangkhiew, Cuckoo Mahapatra, Pratyush P. Mohapatra, Manoj V. Nair, and Sudhanya R. Hajong: Discovery of the cicada genus Becquartina Kato, 1940 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadinae) in India with the description of a new species from Meghalaya.
Photos courtesy and copyright of Vivek Sarkar.
Here is a quick way to tell the difference between the 7 periodical cicada species:
Download this chart. Click/tap for a larger version:
The songs of Magicicada cassini (17-year) and Magicicada tredecassini (13-year) are essentially identical:
M. cassini:
M. tredecassini:
The songs of Magicicada septendecula (17-year) and Magicicada tredecula (13-year) are essentially identical:
M. septendecula (©Joe Green):
M. tredecula:
The songs of Magicicada septendecim (17-year), M. neotredecim (13-year), and Magicicada tredecim (13-year) are essentially identical. M. neotredecim varies the sound of its call in the presence of M. tredecim.
M. septendecim:
M. neotredecim (© Insect Singers)
M. tredecim (© Insect Singers)
And/or watch this video:
Then read this and listen to the sound files on the page: Where will 17 & 13 Year Periodical Cicada Broods emerge next?
