Category: Genera

Genera of cicadas.

Categories
Australia Cyclochila

A big year for cicadas in Australia. Quit your job. Go there now.

Green Grocer Toy

Green Grocer Cicada image by Bron Green Grocer Cicada image by Bron.

2024 is shaping up to be a HUGE year for Green Grocer aka Cyclochila australasiae cicadas in Australia. Don’t believe me? Check out this article in the Sydney Morning Herald, watch the sightings pour into iNaturalist, look at the trends in Google Trends, or chat with observers on Cicada Discussion, Science and Study Group.

Looking at data from Google Trends(columns) and iNaturalist(lines), it looks like 2024 will be the best year in over ten years, with 2020, 2017 and 2013 being peak years (but not the biggest). iNaturalist is also a relatively new app/website; my guess is its user base wasn’t big enough until 2019 to compare to Google Trends.

Cicada Trends for Australia

While some Green Grocers appear every year, there is a periodicity at play. With the little data below it would seem there are two 7 year groups: one 2013 to 2020, and one 2017 to 2024. I’m making assumptions.

If my boss fires me tomorrow, I’m headed to Australia.

Categories
Neotibicen U.S.A.

A short cicada summer in central New Jersey

Adult Neotibicen tibicen 2024

Most of my cicada experience happens in the state of New Jersey, particularly central New Jersey (which does exist: it is comprised of Middlesex, Sommerset, Hunterdon and Mercer counties). Typically, in central and northern New Jersey, the summer cicada season will kick off in late June with the emergence of Neotibicen lyricen and end with the grinding calls of Neotibicen canicularis in the middle of September. Central New Jersey has these annual cicada species: Neotibicen lyricen (both sub-species), Neotibicen linnei, Neotibicen tibicen, Neotibicen winnemanna, Neotibicen canicularis, and possibly Megatibicen grossus in the south, and Okanagana rimosa in the north-west. Periodical cicadas are also found in the area, but not in the summer, and not in 2024.

Neotibicen tibicen aka Morning Cicadas (most call them Swamp Cicadas — I do not because it is not a helpful description) are abundant in my location and do well with both Spruce and Maple trees.

The summer of 2024 was a strange one:

  • I didn’t find my first Morning (Neotibicen tibicen tibicen) cicada until July 7th (about a week late), found my last one on August 9th (about two weeks early).
  • The last cicada I heard sing was during the last week of August, about two weeks early.
  • June high temperatures were 5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than average (avg. 1991-2020), and there was 30% less precipitation. A HOT and DRY start.
  • July high temperatures were 2 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than average (avg. 1991-2020), and there was 20% less precipitation. A hot and DRY mid-season.
  • August high temps were flat, but there was +51% more precipitation. Average temperatures, and wet finale.
  • I used Weather Underground for 2024 averages, and Current Results for historical data.
  • It is worth nothing that Cicada Killer Wasps were plentiful and productive.

Neotibicen cicadas are around every where, but there are good years and great years. 2024 was not great. I don’t know if the extra HOT and dry weather had an impact, but it may have. Lots of “maybes”.

Here’s some photos of molting Neotibicen tibicen for you to enjoy:

Molting Neotibicen tibicen 2 2024

Molting Neotibicen tibicen 3 2024

Molting Neotibicen tibicen 2024

Categories
Australia Cystosoma

Bladder Cicadas are out in Australia

Bladder Cicadas are out in Australia, as reported by Ben McBurney on the Facebook Cicada Science & Discussion group.

Bladder Cicadas are green, sing at night, and have large abdomens. Are they katydid mimics, or just filling the same niche? Seems like it. According to Ben they sound like frogs, so maybe they’re frog mimics as well.

More to explore:

Categories
Neocicada

Neocicada hieroglyphica male adult and shed skins

Some Neocicada hieroglyphica hieroglyphica photos from my cellphone.

All photos captured in Brendan T. Byrne State Park, in New Jersey.

Neocicada hieroglyphica exuvia (skin/shell):
Exuvia lit by the sun

Neocicada hieroglyphica exuvia (skin/shell):
Inside the exuvia

Neocicada hieroglyphica ventral view:
Neocicada hieroglyphica ventral view

Neocicada hieroglyphica side view:
Neocicada hieroglyphica side view

Neocicada hieroglyphica dorsal view:
Neocicada hieroglyphica dorsal view

Categories
Eye Color Magicicada

How rare are Magicicada cicadas with white or blue eyes?

White eyed male Magicicada septendecim Metuchen NJ 2

How rare are Magicicadas cicadas with white or blue eyes?
Do we include yellowish-white/cream-colored eyes? Gray eyes?

“One in a million!”
“One in 100,000?”
“One in 1000”?

Let’s look at some data. Since its beginning, as of June 19th, 2024, iNaturalist has had 27,294 Research Grade Magicicada sightings, and 136 Research Grade “Magicicada eye color=blue/white” cicadas. So, in the iNaturalist data set, one in 201 Magicicada have white or blue eyes.

The number of white/blue eyed Magicicada is without a doubt more than one in 201, but not one in a million. Personally, I’ve found at least one cicada with white or blue eyes per emergence. My guess is the number is closer to one in 10,000.

But don’t tell anyone who is excited about a one in a million find. Let them have their fun and happiness. 🙂

More articles about eye color.

Categories
Magicicada Periodical

The cicada emergence is over. Now what?

“Will you miss me when I’m gone?”
end of the line

As I write this, the Brood XIX emergence is all but over, and Brood XIII has about two weeks left to go.

So what’s next? Well, I’ll tell you.

Upload your photos to iNaturalist and the Cicada Safari app

You can help cicada researchers by uploading your photos to iNaturalist or the Cicada Safari app.

iNaturalist is excellent for all animals — plus plants and fungi — not just cicadas. You will find yourself using it all year long. Cicada Safari is specifically for cicadas.

Learn about Annual species of cicadas

There are more to cicadas that just Periodical cicadas.

Cicadas exist on every continent except for Antarctica, and in every State in the U.S. except for Hawaii and Alaska!

Learn about the most-common cicadas that live in the same areas as periodical cicadas, and then learn about the variety of cicadas found around the world.

Preserve your cicada specimens

Saving cicada skins (molts/shells) and wings is easy. Just keep them dry.

Preserving Periodical cicadas can be challenging because their eye colors fade and because they’re fatty and smell.

If you want to preserve eye colors, keeping them in alcohol seems to work best.

Some people dip them in acetone to mitigate the smell from decaying fat, but I’ve never tried it.

Otherwise, keep them dry and in a cedar box. I use silica gel packs to keep them dry. Cedar repels small insects that will eat your cicada collection. Moth balls work as well to keep tiny insects away from your collection.

If you want to pin your cicadas, so the wings are spread out, you have to do it while the cicadas are still moist. Plenty of places have supplies, like Carolina Biological Supply. I’ve softened hard cicadas by placing them in Tupperware/Rubbermaid containers with moist paper towels and a moth ball to prevent mold.

Make a scrapbook of your cicada memories

Make a scrapbook or photo album of your cicada memories.

This is something I do every year, though I tend to mix it up with non-cicada photos as well.

photo album

Categories
Brood XIV Magicicada Periodical

Brood XIV (14) Cicadas will emerge in 2025 in thirteen states

Periodical cicada Brood XIV (14) will emerge in the spring of 2025 in Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia. The last time this brood emerged was in 2008.

What, when, where:

What:

  • Millions of these:
    Adult, Nymph Molting
  • Cicada insects with a 17-year life cycle.
  • Some people call them “locusts” but they’re really cicadas.
  • Which species: All three 17-year species, Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini and Magicicada septendecula. How to tell the difference between the species.
  • NOT the green ones that arrive annually.

When: Typically beginning in mid-May and ending in late June. These cicadas will begin to emerge approximately when the soil 8″ beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence.

Other tips: these cicadas will emerge after the trees have grown leaves, and, by my own observation, around the same time Iris flowers bloom.

Where:

  • Georgia counties: Fannin, Lumpkin, Rabun, Union
  • Indiana counties: Crawford, Harrison, Perry
  • Kentucky counties: Adairville, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bell, Bourbon, Boyd, Bracken, Campbell, Carter, Clinton, Edmonson, Fayette, Franklin, Floyd, Gallatin, Grant, Hardin, Harrison, Henderson, LaRue, Laurel, Leslie, Madison, Montgomery, Nelson, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pulaski, Rowan, Scott, Shelby, Whitley
  • Kentucky cities: Bowling Green, Corbin, Flemingsburg, Frankfort, Greensburg, Hazard, Radcliff, Richmond
  • Massachusetts counties: Barnstable, Plymouth
  • Maryland counties: Allegany, Washington
  • New Jersey counties: Atlantic, Camden, Ocean (NJ records are from older literature).
  • New York counties: Nassau, Suffolk
  • Ohio counties: Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Gallia, Hamilton, Highland, Ross, Warren
  • Ohio cities: Batavia, Cincinnati area, Loveland
  • North Carolina counties: Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Henderson, McDowell, Mitchell, Wilkes
  • North Carolina cities: Asheville, Moravian Falls, north-west of Nashville, Wilkesboro
  • Pennsylvania counties: Adams, Berks, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Cumberland, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Union
  • Pennsylvania cities: Bear Gap
  • Tennessee counties: Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Cheatham, Claiborne, Cocke, Coffee, Cumberland, Davidson, Grainger, Grundy, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Marion, Roane, Robertson, Rutherford, Sevier, Sumner, Williamson
  • Tennessee cities: Cades Cove, Muddy Pond,
  • Virginia counties: Botetourt, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Wise
  • West Virginia counties: Cabell, Kanawha, Mason, Mingo, Putnam, Wyoming
  • West Virginia cities: Huntington

More Location Tips:

More facts and fun:

1907 Map Marlatt, C.L.. 1907. The periodical cicada. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology.

Marlatt 1907 14 Brood XIV

A more modern map made by Roy Troutman:

Brood XIV Map by Roy Troutman

Categories
Magicicada

Nel PreTech Corporation created a CT scan of a female Magicicada

This is an interesting story from LinkedIn. The folks at Nel PreTech Corporation created a CT scan of a female Magicicada!

CT Scan of a Cicada Insect

Categories
Audio, Sounds, Songs Magicicada Periodical

Can periodical cicadas cause hearing damage?

People ask, “Can periodical cicada singing damage hearing”? It all depends on how long you expose yourself to their song, and how close your ears are to the insect. Invest in some quality ear plugs if you are concerned. Consult a medical professional, of course. Get a Sound Level Meter.

Periodical cicada choruses are often in the 80–85db range, which the CDC says “You may feel very annoyed” and “Damage to hearing possible after 2 hours of exposure”:

80-85

If you spend a long time outside during a chorus, your ears will probably ring for hours after. That is my personal experience.

Placed directly on a microphone, I have observed periodical cicadas get as loud as 111.4db. According to the CDC, that is close enough to cause hearing damage in less than 2 minutes. Do not place male cicadas on your ear! Do not put your head right next to the tree branches where they’re singing.

111.4db

111.4db

Check out this video of Magicicada sound levels measured by an EXTECH 407730 Sound Level Meter:

How to avoid hearing them?

  1. Stay indoors
  2. Buy earplugs or headphones that block external sound
  3. Avoid their peak singing times, between 10 am and 5 pm. Before 10 am and after 5 pm are also the best times to do yard work to avoid them.

I’ve exposed myself to hundreds of hours of cicada songs. I’ve also gone to hundreds of concerts and listened to a lot of rowdy music over the years. My hearing is not great, but it is probably not due to cicadas.

It is worth mentioning that only male cicadas sing. Females make noise by flicking their wings, but they are not as loud as the males. Males have organs called tymbals that vibrate creating their signature sound.

Here are illustrations and a photo of a Magicicada’s tymbals. They have one on each side of their body:
tymbals

So what is the loudest cicada? According to the University of Florida Insect Book of World Records, “The African cicada, Brevisana brevis (Homoptera: Cicadidae) produces a calling song with a mean sound pressure level of 106.7 decibels at a distance of 50cm.” The loudest cicada in the United States, using the same methodology, is Diceroprocta apache (Davis) at 106.2db at 50cm.

I need to take measurements of Magicicada from 50cm to make a comparison. The measurements I’ve taken are in the midst of a large chorus with cicadas about a meter to 20 meters away, which falls in the 80-85db range; or directly on the mic, which gets into the 109-111db range. Your results may vary.

Categories
Brood XXIII Chris Simon Magicicada Periodical Stragglers

Brood XXIII Cicada Stragglers are emerging!

BROODXXIII

One phenomenal behavior of Magicicada periodical cicadas is they “straggle”, meaning they emerge earlier or later than the year they are expected. Typically they emerge 1 or 4 years before they’re supposed to emerge.

Brood XXIII is expected to emerge in four years in 2028, but enough are emerging in 2024 for cicada researchers like Chris Simon to take notice! She let us know about the stragglers on May 8th.

Brood XXIII is found in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. This is not a perfect map (it overlaps with Brood XIX), but XXIII cicadas will show up in that area.

Arkansas: Bayou Deview Wildlife Management Area, Poinsett County, Devalls Bluff, Harrisburg, Holland Bottoms, Jacksonville, Jonesboro, Knox Co., Lake Hogue, Lake Poinsett State Park, Little Rock, and Wynne.

Illinois: Anna, Carbondale, Carterville, Chester, Clinton Lake, Marissa and Robinson.

Indiana: Harmonie State Park, Hymera, Leanne, Richland, Sullivan And Posey Counties.

Kentucky: Benton, Calvert City, Gilbertsville, Henry County, Murray, and Paducah.

Louisiana: Bastrop, Choudrant, Grayson and West Monroe.

Mississippi: Alva, Arlington, Booneville, Brandon, Clinton, Corinth, Desoto County, Florence, French Camp, Hernando, Holcomb, Houlka, Jackson, New Albany, Oxford, Potts Camp, Silver Creek, Tishomingo, and Water Valley.

Tennessee: Atoka, Benton, Cordova, Henry County, Huntingdon, Jackson, Lavinia, Leach, Lexington, McNeary County, Memphis, Paris, Savannah, and Speedwell.

Here’s a blue overlay of there Brood XXIII emerges from the UCONN map on the iNaturalist data (as of May 5th):

Brood XXIII overlay

Surrounding the blue area on the west and east is Brood XIX and north will be Brood XIII.

More info: