Category: Genera

Genera of cicadas.

Categories
Fiji Periodical Raiateana Tacuini (Cryptotympanini)

Fiji 8-year periodical Nanai aka Raiateana knowlesi

Fiji $100 note

This cicada will next emerge in 2025.

Update (11/4/2017): from Facebook, it looks like folks are finding them. Here’s an image.

Update (9/13/2017): the Nanai have begun to emerge! This cicada last emerged in 2009 in Nadroga-Navosa and Serua Provinces, and now again emerge in 2017. People in Fuji will be able to report sightings to nanai-tracker.herokuapp.com.

Notes from Chris Simon:

Early this morning I got the first Reports of the 8-year periodical Nanai emerging in Navosa, Fiji! Some people in that area had them for dinner.

This confirms earlier reports of the eight-year periodicity. There was some uncertainty because the original specimens were dated (1906) a year later than they would be if on the current 8-year schedule.

Duffels and Ewart (1988, The Cicadas of the Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga Islands, their taxonomy and Biogeograohy) noted that “Until recently the present species is only known from three males collected in “Fijii” in 1906 by C. Knowles.” Duffels was not able to describe them when he first saw the specimens because they were missing the male genitalia. After obtaining, “a series of females and two males” from Dick Watling and Andrew Laurie in 1986, Duffels was able to assign it to the genus Raiateana. There is one other species of Raiateana in Fiji, R. kuruduadua (two subspecies in Fiji and one in Samoa) but it is not periodical as far as we know.

You might be familiar with American periodical cicadas (Magicicada) and the World-cup synchronized Chremistica ribhoi of India, but Fiji has a periodical cicada too: the 8-year periodical Nanai cicada aka Raiateana knowlesi.

It also appears on Fiji’s $100 note.

There’s even a local legend about the cicada.

More information:

Thanks to Chris Simon of the University of Connecticut for this information.

More shots of the Fiji $100 note and the folder it comes in:

Fiji $100 note

Fiji $100 note

Categories
Australia L. W. Popple Myopsalta

14 new species of grassland, woodland & scrubland Myopsalta cicadas

Lindsay Popple published a new paper describing 14 new species of grassland, woodland & scrubland Myopsalta cicadas. Download it from Zootaxa.

Here are the particulars:

Volume: Zootaxa 4340 (1): 001—098; 2017.
Title: A revision of the Myopsalta crucifera (Ashton) species group (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadettini) with 14 new species from mainland Australia
Author: LINDSAY W. POPPLE

Abstract:

The genus Myopsalta Moulds is distributed throughout much of Australia. Previous studies have associated several undescribed species with the Myopsalta crucifera (Ashton) species complex. The present study informally divides the cicadas in the genus Myopsalta into two species groups. It provides a revision of the M. crucifera species group, which includes redescriptions of M. crucifera s. str. and M. mackinlayi (Distant). The identity of the latter species is further refined and attributed to material formerly presented under the name Myopsalta atrata (Goding & Froggatt). In addition to the redescriptions, 14 new species belonging to the M. crucifera species group are described, including M. albiventris n. sp., M. bassiana n. sp., M. chrysopedia n. sp., M. gordoni n. sp., M. leona n. sp., M. longicauda n. sp., M. majurae n. sp., M. melanobasis n. sp., M. parvula n. sp., M. platyptera n. sp., M. riverina n. sp., M. septa n. sp., M. umbra n. sp. and M. xerograsidia n. sp. A key to species in the genus Myopsalta is provided. Standard morphological descriptions and descriptions of calling songs unique to each species are included along with a discussion on different song types in the M. crucifera species group.

And the announcement from Twitter:

Visit Lindsay’s cicada website.

Categories
Folklore Magicicada Periodical

Avoid “Locust Loco”

A nice illustration that shows the difference between Magicicada periodical cicadas & Locust grasshoppers from the April 18, 1919 edition of The Washburn Leader, Washburn, North Dakota.

Once you see them up-close, it’s clear that cicadas are not locusts. Nearly 98 years later, people still call cicadas “locusts” though.

1919

Categories
Megatibicen Neotibicen

2017 Cicada Summer

Today is September 21st, 2017 — the last day of Summer, in central New Jersey. Leaves of maple trees have started to turn scarlet and yellow. Oaks are dropping their acorns. The few, remaining Morning (Neotibicen tibicen tibicen) and Linne’s (Neotibicen linnei) cicadas sound decrepit and tired — like tiny breaking machines, low on fuel and oil. I found one dead Morning cicada lying on a sidewalk — its body crushed. Here in New Jersey, at least, the cicada season is all but over.

Molting Neotibicen tibicen tibicen in Little Silver, NJ. August 26st.

As cicada years go, this one had ups and downs. It wasn’t as awesome as 2016, but I can’t blame the cicadas.

Downs:

  • No group cicada hunts this year. My cicada hobby is much more fun when I can share it with other people.
  • A skunk took over my favorite spot for finding Morning Cicada nymphs.
  • I had to go on a business trip during what would have been the best weeks for finding nymphs.
  • I forgot to bring my good audio recording equipment to Titusville, NJ & Washington Crossing, PA, and only got so-so iPhone audio of the weird N. winnemanna there.

Ups:

  • I found a new Megatibicen auletes location in Highlands, NJ. The location is about 50 miles north of where I usually find them.
  • I found more Megatibicen auletes exuvia than ever at the Manchester, NJ location where my friends and I normally hunt for auletes. Normally I find one or two — this year I found dozens. I found no adult specimens, other than those singing in the trees at dusk.
  • I did find enough exuvia & Morning cicadas that I should be happy.

Here’s some images from this summer:

Neotibicen tibicen tibicen with bad wing. The indigo color is fascinating. August 9th.
Neotibicen tibicen tibicen with bad wing

A Neotibicen tibicen tibicen found during a lunchtime stroll. September 1st.
Neotibicen tibicen tibicen 5

A female Neotibicen canicularis or maybe pink N. linnei found in Little Silver, NJ. August 25th.
female Neotibicen canicularis

You’ll find more activity on the Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram.

And last, the most popular post on the Cicada Mania Facebook page:

Categories
Australia Cicadettini Clinopsalta L. W. Popple Papers and Documents

New species of Clinopsalta cicadas

Lindsay Popple announced on Twitter that two new species of Clinopsalta cicadas have been described.

Links:

Sounds: Calling songs of Clinopsalta cicadas.

Journal Article: TWO NEW SPECIES OF CLINOPSALTA MOULDS (HEMIPTERA: CICADIDAE) AND ADDITIONAL DISTRIBUTION RECORDS FOR CLINOPSALTA ADELAIDA (ASHTON), WITH NOTES ON THEIR DISTINCTIVE CALLING SONGS. Popple and Emery, 2017. Rec. Aust. Mus. 69(4): 237—256

Abstract from the journal article:

Two new species are described in the genus Clinopsalta Moulds. Clinopsalta autumna sp. nov. exhibits a warm temperate distribution from south-east Queensland south to Goulburn and Nerriga in eastern New South Wales. Clinopsalta semilunata sp. nov. has a patchy distribution in southern Queensland from Binjour Plateau west to near Miles, south to Yelarbon State Forest and Durikai State Forest, both near Inglewood. In addition to the descriptions of these new species, further distribution records are provided for C. adelaida (Ashton), which extend its distribution from south-eastern South Australia and northern Victoria to inland central and northern New South Wales. The species of Clinopsalta are small—medium sized cicadas (< 20 mm body length) with distinctive calling songs of an intermediate frequency (c. 6 to 18 kHz). The temporal structures of the calling songs follow a similar pattern in each species, comprising an introductory rattle followed by a series of clicking phrases. The call is characteristically accompanied with bouts of prominent wing-snapping, except in one species (C. semilunata sp. nov.).

Categories
Cicadettana David Marshall Kathy Hill Papers and Documents

A new genus for North American Cicadetta species: Cicadettana

A photo of a Cicadettana calliope calliope:
Cicadettana calliope photo taken by Paul Krombholz

New changes to the classification of the North American cicadas belonging to the genus Cicadetta have been published. The North American Cicadetta were found to be unrelated to the European Cicadetta (including the type species C. montana), so a new genus was needed. The new genus is Cicadettana. Research & paper by David Marshall and Kathy Hill.

Zootaxa page for the paper.

The generic classification of cicadas within the globally distributed tribe Cicadettini (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) has been challenging due to their often conservative morphology. A recent molecular analysis has indicated that the six North American taxa currently classified in Cicadetta are unrelated to the European type species of Cicadetta, C. montana Scopoli. Here we identify a set of diagnostic morphological characters for a new genus, which we distinguish from its closest relatives in Eurasia and Australasia.

Categories
Neotibicen

Scissors Grinders

Back in the day — 1970s and earlier — people would sharpen scissors, knives, and tools rather than throw them out and buy new ones. A scissors grinder was a person who would sharpen your scissors for you. They used an abrasive wheel to grind your scissors sharp. The sound of the metal of a scissor gliding across the sharpening stone made a unique sound — a sound used to describe the sound some cicadas make.

These days (2017 when I wrote this article) scissors grinders are not a common sight or sound, but a few cicadas still have a common name referring to the scissor grinding days of yore. A few, but not all, are also Dusk Singers.

Neotibicen latifasciatus aka Coastal Scissor(s) Grinder Cicada. Found in FL, MD, NJ, NC, VA. Season: June – Fall. A day singer found along the coast.

N. latifasciatus Call*:

Neotibicen pruinosus pruinosus aka Scissor(s) Grinder. Found in AL, AR, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, OH, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WV, WI. Season: June – September. Neotibicen pruinosus fulvus aka Pale Scissor(s) Grinder Cicada. Found in: KS, OK. Season: June – September. A Dusk Singer, very much like N. winnemanna but predominately west of the Appalachian mountains.

N. pruinosus Call*:

Neotibicen winnemanna aka Eastern Scissor(s) Grinder. Found in AL, DE, DC, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, NJ, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV. Season: June – Fall. A Dusk Singer, very much like N. pruinosus but predominately east of the Appalachian mountains.

N. winnemanna Call*:

It’s worth mentioning two similar cicadas, that don’t bear the “Scissors Grinder” name, but either sound similar or hybridize with Scissor Grinders.

Neotibicen robinsonianus aka Robinson’s Annual Cicada or Robinson’s Cicada. This cicada’s call is similar to Scissor Grinders in rhythm, but it has a duller sound/lower pitch (IMHO). Maybe it should be called the “Dull Scissor Grinder” (that is a joke). Found: AL, AR, DC, FL, GA, IN, KS, MD, MS, MO, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA. Season: June-Fall.

N. robinsonianus Call*:

Neotibicen linnei aka Linne’s Cicada sounds nothing like the Scissors Grinders, but it is known to hybridize with Scissor Grinders. Found: AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NJ, NY, NC, OH, ON, PA, SC, TN, VT, VA, WV, WI. Season: June – fall.

You might hear a hybrid Scissors Grinder with a call that features part of an N. Linnei call!

A pure (non hybrid) N. linnei Call for reference*:

The five cicadas mentioned on this page are part of a group informally known as the Green Neotibicen. They are closely genetically related.

*Audio files are Copyright of InsectSingers.com. Season information gathered from BugGuide.net.

Categories
Auritibicen Euterpnosia Graptopsaltria Hyalessa Japan Osamu Hikino Platypleura Tanna Yezoterpnosia

Cicadas of Japan

Tibicen japonicus
Photo: Auritibicen japonicus by Osamu Hikino.

Cicada season in Japan, like North America, seems to be best from June to September, peaking in August. Different cicada species emerge at different times of the year, but the majority of them are active during the summer.

The best website for the cicadas of Japan that I’ve come across is Cicadae in Japan which is run by Y. Saisho who co-wrote the amazing The Cicadidae of Japan book & CD.

I don’t have too many photos of cicadas from Japan on this site, but here are some of the more well known (Genus names may have changed recently):

Auritibicen flammatus (formerly Tibicen flammatus, Lyristes flammatus)

A. flammatus
Photo by Osamu Hikino.

Auritibicen japonicus (formerly Tibicen japonicus, Lyristes japonicus)

Male Auritibicen japonicus (formerly Tibicen japonicus, Lyristes japonicus)
Photo by Osamu Hikino.

Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata

Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata
Photo by Osamu Hikino.

Here’s a video from the YouTube:

Auritibicen kyushyuensis

Photo by Osamu Hikino
Photo by Osamu Hikino.

Hyalessa maculaticollis

Oncotympana Maculaticollis

Platypleura kaempferi

Platypleura kaempferi (Fabricius, 1794)
Photo by Osamu Hikino.

Tanna japonensis

A male Tanna japonensis
Photo by Osamu Hikino.

Euterpnosia chibensis

Euterpnosia chibensis photos by Osamu Hikino. Japan.
Photo by Osamu Hikino.

Yezoterpnosia nigricosta

Male Terpnosia nigricosta by Osamu Hikino
Photo by Osamu Hikino.

Cicadas are very popular in Japan, and they find their way into pop culture (Anime, live action kids shows like Ultraman). This photo features a cicada toy when spun, makes a sound, some cicada clicker toys, a plush Oncotympana, a Seminingen (bad guy from Ultraman), and Yotsuba a green-haired girl who has caught a cicada (Lyristes japonicus perhaps):

cicada related pop culture items from Japan

Cicada News & Photos

The best place, I’ve found, to keep track of which cicadas are out in Japan is Twitter. You can search Twitter yourself for セミ and you’ll find many results — most Tweets are references to pop culture, but occasional photos and actual information about actual cicadas.

These are many of the Twitter feeds I follow. You don’t need to belong to Twitter to view their feeds, but it’s more fun if you join.

Bonus:

Here’s a video of a Yezoterpnosia nigricosta taken by Elias Bonaros:

Categories
Brood VI Brood X Life Cycle Magicicada

My 2017 Brood X and VI Experiences

I’ll cut to the chase, in terms of Brood VI, I only experienced the emergence via my web browser. I planned on visiting North Carolina but rain and car troubles stood in my way. I did travel to Wisconsin to try to find legendary populations said to exist there, but I found no cicadas. I drove routes 90, 14, 12, 23, and roads in between, but I had no luck finding them. My investigation was by no means comprehensive, but I covered as much ground as I could in the two days I was there and found no periodical cicadas.

Brood X stragglers are a different story. I missed seeing the massive Virginia/Maryland area populations, but I was able to see cicadas in Princeton, and the significant emergence in the Dublin area of Ohio.

Princeton, NJ

On May 20th I visited Princeton and found exuvia (shed skins/”shells”) on a pole next to where I parked my car, which was very encouraging. I headed for the Princeton Battle Monument park, a place where I saw massive numbers of cicadas in 2004. There, in 2017, I found exuvia but no adults — from 5 to as many as 200 per tree (I counted what I could see). The park was overflowing with squirrels and birds that would love to eat cicadas — I have no doubt why no stragglers survived. Blackbirds paced the lawn five abreast, like a small army systematically hunting for insect prey. During a normal emergence periodical cicadas emerge in such great numbers that many are able to get past the armies of hungry birds and rodents (this is called predator satiation). After visiting the park, I walked many side streets and found exuvia everywhere I went — not massive piles as we see during a normal, on-schedule emergence — but at least a few on every tree.

I returned on May 27th and actually found adult cicadas in Princeton. I found dozens of Magicicada cassini and a few Magicicada septendecim. There were not enough adults to form viable choruses. I doubt a few mated. I heard a single Magicicada cassini court song, so all least they were trying.

The most interesting cicada I saw was this Magicicada cassini with a mosaic pigment mutation, which caused the unusual orange marking on its abdomen. At first, I thought it was a Magicicada septendecim, but Chris Simon confirmed that it was not.

Magicicada cassini with mosaic pigment mutation in Princeton 2017

I also drove Rt 29 from Trenton to Frenchtown, across Rt 12 to Flemington, and down Rt 31 and heard no cicada populations. I visited Sourland Mountain. I visited many of the markers on Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) but found no cicadas, and certainly no viable adult populations (no singing, not enough to perpetuate a population).

North of Dublin, Ohio

On June 10th I made it to the suburbs north of Dublin, Ohio (itself north of Columbus). There I encountered a very active periodical cicada emergence. I mostly found Magicicada cassini, but I could hear Magicicada septendecim from time to time. I have little doubt that many cicadas mated and some of their progeny will survive to appear in another 14 or 17 years.

North of Dublin

Cedar Springs, OH

When I’m mapping cicadas I try to stop at every rest stop and welcome center to look for cicadas. I found periodical cicada exuvia at a rest stop on Rt 70 hear Cedar Springs, Ohio. This was a nice find because I didn’t see any sightings in this area on the Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) map.

Indianapolis, IN, near Ft. Harrison State park

I passed through Indianapolis, IN twice on my way to and from Wisconsin. I found some exuvia on the outskirts of Ft. Harrison State Park, but nothing inside the park (weird).

Categories
3301 Distantalna Pop Culture Tosenini

Cicada 3301 cicada compared to Distantalna splendida

Today I took a fresh look at the 3301 Cicada image. In the past I thought it was a composition of multiple cicadas — and it still might be — but I now think it’s primarily a Distantalna splendida formerly Tosena splendida, a cicada found in southern Asia (China, India, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.). Distortions caused by embossing — or whatever filters they used — make identifying the cicada difficult.

Here’s my comparison of the wings.

cicada 3301

I will probably do a comparison of the body and head at some point.

Here’s a photo of this Splendid cicada:
splendida

Specimens vary in appearance (size, wing patterns) from individual to individual — they all look similar, but they’re not exact matches. The process of spreading a specimen’s wings and preserving it can also alter its appearance, and introduce unnatural changes to the insect’s morphology.

Distantalna splendida are easy to find on eBay or taxidermy shops if you’re interested, although they’re often mislabeled using their former name Tosena splendida, or something totally different.

Bonus:

Here’s an illustration from A Monograph of Oriental Cicadas by W. L. Distant. 1889-1892. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website:

3301 Cicada

More information about 3301: Cicada 3301 – solution.