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Brood II Edward Johnson John Cooley Magicicada Mating Periodical Photos & Illustrations Roy Troutman

Roy Troutman’s 2013 Brood II cicada photos, gallery 2

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
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
Light Up Cicada Sculpture at the Staten Island Museum by Roy Troutman

Magicicada septendecim by Roy Troutman
M. septendecim by Roy Troutman

Magicicada cassini flying inbetween calling in Colonia NJ 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 cassini in flight in Colonia NJ by Roy Troutman

Magicicada corpses and exuvia by Roy Troutman
Magicicada corpses and exuvia by Roy Troutman

Magicicada mating by Roy Troutman
Magicicada mating by Roy Troutman

Magicicada exuvia by Roy Troutman
Magicicada exuvia by Roy Troutman

Magicicada septendecim mating by Roy Troutman
Magicicada septendecim mating by Roy Troutman

Magicicada staring at you by Roy Troutman
Magicicada staring at you by Roy Troutman

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Brood X Eye Color Magicicada Mating

Brood X 2021 Princeton, New Jersey

The Princeton Battlefield (historical location of one of George Washington’s battles) has always been a great place to find Brood X periodical cicadas.

Here are a few photos I took last weekend:

A female Magicicada septendecim with white eyes & costal wing margin mating:
Magicicada with white eyes mating

A female Magicicada septendecim with white eyes & costal wing margin:
Magicicada septendecim female with white eyes

Magicicada with beige eyes:
Magicicada with beige eyes

Many, many exit holes:
Loads of holes

Triple exit holes in mud (kinda looks like a skull):
Triple exit holes in mud

Egg nests carved into branches by the cicadas ovipositor:
Egg nests

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Behavior Brood X Magicicada Mating

Rainy day Magicicada behavior

Brood X has emerged in Princeton, New Jersey, but the weather is currently not great for cicadas: less than 50°F and rainy. Undaunted, I visited Princeton yesterday to observe Magicicada cicada behavior on a cold, rainy day.

I arrived at Princeton Battleground State Park around 3:30 PM and immediately head to the short trees and tall weeds, like honeysuckle, that line the perimeter of the park. I was pleased to see hundreds of cicadas clinging to the leaves, stems, and branches of the plants — seemingly without extra effort or discomfort. Many were weighted down by droplets of rain, which seemed to roll off their bodies and bead on their wings like translucent pearls.

Even though temperatures were below 50°F I did hear an occasional distress call, and saw plenty of cicadas mating — perhaps they started mating before the rain and cold weather began. No flying. No calls, chorusing, or wing flicks.

Other than thousands of seemingly healthy but (patient) cicadas hanging from vegetation, there were plenty of malformed cicadas on the trunks of larger trees, and piles of exuvia and corpses circling tree trunks. The air around trees stank like ammonia and rotting fat and meat — not unlike a dumpster behind a burger restaurant.

I saw mostly Magicicada septendecim and some Magicicada cassini. No apparent Magicicada septendecula. I saw just one M. Septendecim infected with Massospora cicadina fungus. While there was plenty of avian activity in the area, I did not see any birds or other creatures feast on the docile or dead cicada — maybe I scared them away — maybe their appetites were satiated.

Cicadas dripping with rain:
Cicadas dripping with rain

Cicadas mating:
Cicadas Mating

Cicadas mating

M. Septendecim infected with Massospora cicadina fungus:
Massospora

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Brood V Magicicada Mating Photos & Illustrations

Brood V Magicicada from Morgantown, WV (2016)

These are photos of Magicicada from the Brood V emergence in Morgantown, WV in 2016.

Click/tap the image for a larger version:

Magicicada cassini on WVU campus
Magicicada cassini on WVU campus

Magicicada exuvia hanging from leaves
Magicicada exuvia hanging from leaves

Brood V Magicicada nymph
Brood V Magicicada nymph

Brood V Magicicada nymph
Brood V Magicicada nymph
Brood V Magicicada adult

Brood V Magicicada mating
Brood V Magicicada mating

Brood V Magicicada mating
Brood V Magicicada mating

Brood V Magicicada molting
Brood V Magicicada molting

Brood V Magicicada molting
Brood V Magicicada molting

Brood V Magicicada molting
Brood V Magicicada molting

Brood V Magicicada molting
Brood V Magicicada molting

Brood V Magicicada molting
Brood V Magicicada molting

Brood V Magicicada molting
Brood V Magicicada molting

Magicicada with mustard eyes
Magicicada with mustard eyes

More from Brood V:

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Brood II Magicicada Mating Photos & Illustrations

Brood II Magicicada from Woodbridge, New Jersey (2013)

Brood II Magicicada from Woodbridge, New Jersey (2013). Elias Bonaros, Roy Troutman and I went looking for cicadas in Middlesex County.

A pair of mating Magicicada septendecim found in Woodbridge Township NJ:
A pair of mating Magicicada septendecims found in Woodbridge Township NJ

There was a population of Magicicada septendecula near the Metropark train station.

Female Magicicada septendecula found in Woodbridge Township NJ:
Female Magicicada septendecula found in Woodbridge Township NJ

Male Magicicada septendecula found in Woodbridge Township NJ:
Male Magicicada septendecula found in Woodbridge Township NJ

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Brood VII Magicicada Mating Photos & Illustrations

Magicicada Brood VII Cicada Photos from 2018

This is a series of Magicicada photos from the 2018 Brood VII (Onondaga Brood) from Onondaga county New York. Read more about Brood VII.

These photos are BIG. Click/tab to see larger versions.

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Adult Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Mating Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

Mating Magicicada septendecim from Brood VII

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Gaeanini Mating Sulphogaeana

Mating Sulphogaeana sulphurea (Westwood, 1839)

Sulphogaeana sulphurea (Westwood, 1839). Photo by Jeff Blincow, Taken in Bhutan.

Mating Gaeana sulphurea from Bhutan taken by Jeff Blincow

These cicadas are mating. Sulphogaeana sulphurea was previously known as Gaeana sulphurea.

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David Marshall John Cooley Kathy Hill Massospora Mating Papers and Documents

New paper: Massospora cicadina hijacks the sexual signals of periodical cicadas

A new paper, A specialized fungal parasite (Massospora cicadina) hijacks the sexual signals of periodical cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada), has been published by John R. Cooley, David C. Marshall & Kathy B. R. Hill, in Scientific Reports 8, Article number: 1432 (2018).

Read the paper online.

In a nutshell: the fungus infects males and causes them to exactly mimic the mating behavior of female cicadas, thus infected males end up spreading the fungus to uninfected males.

Abstract:

Male periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.) infected with conidiospore-producing (“Stage I”) infections of the entomopathogenic fungus Massospora cicadina exhibit precisely timed wing-flick signaling behavior normally seen only in sexually receptive female cicadas. Male wing-flicks attract copulation attempts from conspecific males in the chorus; close contact apparently spreads the infective conidiospores. In contrast, males with “Stage II” infections that produce resting spores that wait for the next cicada generation do not produce female-specific signals. We propose that these complex fungus-induced behavioral changes, which resemble apparently independently derived changes in other cicada-Massospora systems, represent a fungus “extended phenotype” that hijacks cicadas, turning them into vehicles for fungus transmission at the expense of the cicadas’ own interests.

And now, because I need an image for the post: a meme:

Fungus Bae

Cicadas, when infected, are called “salt shakers of doom”. Add that to the meme “Salt Bae”, and the image makes sense.

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Cystosoma David Emery Mating

Mating Bladder cicadas



Mating bladders 2, originally uploaded by ozzicada.

An excellent photo of mating Bladder cicadas (Cystosoma saundersii) by David Emery.

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Magicicada Mating Roy Troutman Video

Magicicada mating

In this video we see a male and female Magicicada cicada mating.

Magicicada mating from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.