Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
Here’s something that’s truly amazing — a 17 year cicada with marble-colored eyes. White eyed cicadas are rare — but a mixed color eye cicada is amazing. Roy and the person how found the cicada should go play the lottery tonight, because luck is on their side.
Roy Troutman’s brother in law Gary spotted this Magicicada with an unusually light pronotum. Normally the pronotum features 2 dark/black patches. In this example they are almost non-existent.
Another sweet cicada photo has emerged on Flickr
Here are some new photos from Roy Troutman that will give you a good idea of what to look for when searching for signs of cicadas in your yard:
This is a pair of Magicicada nymphs, much like you might find when gardening or turning over logs or stones in your yard.
See those beige globs of soil amongst the leaves and debris? Those are called cicada chimneys. They are a sure sign that a cicada nymph is below the soil, and will emerge in a few days or weeks.
Look closely at this picture and you’ll see holes in the ground. Those are holes that cicada nymphs have dug, and they’re another sure sign of where a cicada will emerge.
On May 1st we’ll start making predictions as to when they’ll start to emerge.
Ever wonder how cicadas make the sound they make? Look no further than this article: What the buzz was all about: superfast song muscles rattle the tymbals of male periodical cicadas. You’ll final many paragraphs of information, but most importantly, macro photos, illustrations and even 3D models of working cicada muscles and membranes.
Thanks to Roy Troutman for this find.
Here’s a photo of first instar Magicicada nymphs by Roy Troutman:
Here is video of a 1st instar magicicada nymph crawling around taken just minutes after it crawled from its egg sack:
1st instar magicicada nymph from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.
1st instar magicicada nymph in slow motion by Roy:
1st instar magicicada nymph in slow motion from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.
Here’s a picture of Magicicada eggs from Roy Troutman. They’re about 3-4mm long. Very tiny.
Michael Jimms sent us this photo of a blue eyed Magicicada:
Michael won the last button in the blue/white/gray eyed cicada category.
Congratulations to all the winners. There are still prizes left in the contest: for Multi Colored Eyed cicadas, and for an emerging nymph with white eyes. Good luck.
A creamy white eyed cicada from Morton Grove by Judy Thorpe:
And…
A true-blue eyed cicada from Western Springs by Matt Weiss:
