March 26, 2014

Cicada Books for Kids, Part 1

Filed under: Books — Dan @ 7:51 pm

I collect virtually every cicada book I can get my hands on, including books written for children. They often contain some of the best photos and illustrations, and for that reason alone they’re nice to have.

One bittersweet thing about cicada books is people often resell them after a periodical cicada emergence is over, but that also means you can get them for a low price if you don’t mind a used book. Before Amazon.com was invented, people went to a place called the library, and an entire town essentially shared a single used book.

Cicadas Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle illustrated by Meryl Henderson

This is a recent book and features page after page of color illustrations of cicadas, and cicada-related information. The book is factually accurate and the illustrations are excellent. The reading level is 4 to 8, but I think cicada fans of all ages would enjoy this book. Get it on Amazon.com.

Cicadas, A True Book, by Ann O Squire

Get it on Amazon.com.

The Visual Book of Australian Cicadas by Peter Leyden

This short book is packed with excellent illustrations of Australian cicadas. It is likely out of print, but I recommend it for the quality of the illustrations and the collectibility factor.

The Visual Book of Australian Cicadas by Peter Leyden

Cicadas and Aphids What They Have in Common by Sara Swan Miller

This book features photos (not illustrations) of cicadas and other members of the order Hemiptera (true bugs). I recommend this book for kids who want to expand their interest in insects beyond cicadas. The reading level is 8 or above.

Get it on Amazon.com.

The next three books are very similar in that they all feature photos of mostly periodical cicadas (Magicicadas) with easy-to-understand explanations. The reading level for all three is 4 to 8.

Cicadas by Helen Frost Gail Saunders-Smith Ph.D. Consulting Editor

Get it on Amazon.com.

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March 25, 2014

Catalogue of the Cicadoidea by Allen F Sanborn

Filed under: Allen F. Sanborn | Books — Dan @ 7:17 pm

The Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha) by Allen F Sanborn weighs about six pounds. It’s also one of my favorite cicada books, and it usually can be found on my desk. I use it mostly to verify the names of cicadas. The book is not inexpensive, but it is also not meant academics, not for someone with a fleeting interest in cicadas. You can get a copy on Amazon.com.

The book is also ~10 years old as of 2024, and many cicada names have changed since it was published.

Here’s a description from the publisher:

This is the third in a series of catalogs and bibliographies of the Cicadoidea covering 1981-2010. The work summarizes the cicada literature, providing a means for easy access to information previously published on a particular species or to allow researchers the ability to locate similar work that has been published on other species. A total of 2,591 references are included in the bibliography. The book is a source of biological and systematic information that could be used by zoologists, entomologists, individuals interested in crop protection, and students studying entomology as well as anyone interested in cicadas or who require specific information on the insects. Each genus/species is identified with the reference, the page number, any figures (if applicable), the topics covered by the reference, any synonymies, and any biogeographic information mentioned for the species in the individual reference. An added benefit to the catalog is that it is the first complete species list for the Cicadoidea, including all synonymies and new combinations through 2012.

Over 3,390 varieties of cicadas (yeah, I manually counted the species).

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Some cicada books from Japan

Filed under: Books | Japan — Dan @ 4:04 am

Every now and then I treat myself to a cicada book from Japan. Cicadas are called semi in Japan, which seems to be spelled ã‚»ãƒŸ or è‰. Enter ã‚»ãƒŸ or è‰ into the Amazon.co.jp search box and you’ll find a bunch of cicada books (amongst other things).

I’ve already written about Dr. M. Haysashi and Dr. Yasumasa Saisho‘s fantastic The Cicadidae of Japan book. Here are some others:

ã‚»ãƒŸè¦³å¯Ÿè¨˜ (å†™çœŸçµµæœ¬ ã¼ãã®åºã«ããŸè™«ãŸã¡):

This book features huge photos of cicadas through all phases of their lives. It also features diagrams of their lifecycle and underground tunnels.

A Cicada Book from Japan
ã‚»ãƒŸãƒ»ã‚«ãƒ¡ãƒ ã‚·ã®ä»²é–“ (æµ·é‡Žå’Œç”·ã®ãƒ¯ã‚¯ãƒ¯ã‚¯è™«å›³é‘‘):

Only the first eleven pages of this book are about cicadas, but they are excellent, featuring large photos of common cicadas. The book features two pages that match nymph exoskeletons to adult cicadas.

And Another Cicada Book from Japan

ã‚»ãƒŸã®ä¸€ç”Ÿ (ç§‘å¦ã®ã‚¢ãƒ«ãƒãƒ ):

This book also features many large photos of cicadas throughout their life cycle. The photos of eggs and first instar nymphs are particularly nice.

Another Cicada Book from Japan

Note that these books are not written in English.

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September 30, 2013

Cicadas of Thailand Volume 2: Taxonomy and Sonic Ethology by Michel Boulard

Filed under: Books | Michel Boulard | Thailand — Dan @ 7:07 am

Cicadas of Thailand Volume 2: Taxonomy and Sonic Ethology by Michel Boulard is available now via Siri Scientific Press.

Cicadas of Thailand 2

A comprehensive 436 page volume from the leading world expert representing 13 years of work on taxonomy (including several newly described species) and sonic ethology, with supporting audio tracks

I ordered a copy already.

Cicadas of Thailand Volume 1 was a great resource for the cicadas of Thailand and South-East Asia in general (many Asian species are not endemic, so you’ll find them in many countries). I imagine that Volume 2 will be just as amazing.

Here’s his first book Cicadas of Thailand: General and Particular Characteristics. Volume 1:

The Cicadas of Thailand by Michel Boulard

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June 4, 2013

David Rothenberg, John Cooley and the New York Times

Filed under: Books | Brood II | David Rothenberg | John Cooley | Music — Dan @ 8:52 pm

It isn’t often that cicada celebrities show up on your Mother’s lawn, but when you have a healthy supply of easily catchable singing M. septendecim, and a cicada website, these things happen.

Last Saturday I met up with cicada researcher John Cooley, Japanese cicada researcher Jim Yoshimura, and musician and professor David Rothenberg at Roosevelt Park in Edison NJ. They were looking for male cicadas to perform with David at a World Science Festival event in the Bronx later that night. New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell was also there to interview David and John, and artist Asher Jay was there to lend David support.

The cicadas in the park weren’t performing well enough, so I directed them to my Mom’s place in Metuchen.

The Metuchen location yielded many screaming cicadas. David collaborated with the cicadas on the spot with his Ani-Moog iPad app, and a clarinet. John Cooley dropped some cicada science for Stephen Farrell’s video camera as well. My Mom served refreshments. Once enough cicadas were collected, the cicada celebrities departed — before leaving David left my Mom an autographed book and CD. Very cool!

John Cooley & David Rothenberg
A beautiful day for enjoying the song of cicadas in the suburbs of New Jersey.

April 9, 2013

Biogeography of the Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) of North America, North of Mexico

Download the PDF here: www.cicadamania.com/downloads/diversity-05-00166.pdf.

We are excited to announce the availability of a document by Allen F. Sanborn and Polly K. Phillips titled Biogeography of the Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) of North America, North of Mexico. This document features distribution maps for North American cicada species! This document is an excellent companion to The Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae) of North America North of Mexico by Allen F. Sanborn and Maxine S. Heath (link to that book).

Abstract: We describe and illustrate the biogeography of the cicadas inhabiting continental North America, north of Mexico. Species distributions were determined through our collecting efforts as well as label data from more than 110 institutional collections. The status of subspecies is discussed with respect to their distributions. As we have shown over limited geographic areas, the distribution of individual species is related to the habitat in which they are found. We discuss the biogeography of the genera with respect to their phylogenetic relationships. California is the state with the greatest alpha diversity (89 species, 46.6% of taxa) and unique species (35 species, 18.3% of taxa). Texas, Arizona, Colorado and Utah are the states with the next greatest alpha diversity with Texas, Arizona and Utah being next for unique species diversity. Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island are the states with the least amount of cicada diversity. Diversity is greatest in states and areas where there is a diversity of plant communities and habitats within these communities. Mountainous terrain also coincides with increases in diversity. Several regions of the focus area require additional collection efforts to fill in the distributions of several species.
Keywords: cicada; distribution; Diceroprocta; Tibicen; Okanagana; Okanagodes; Cacama; Magicicada; Platypedia; Cicadetta

An example of a map from the document:

Example Map

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January 20, 2013

The Cicadas of Thailand, Vol.2. Coming Soon?

Filed under: Books | Michel Boulard | Thailand — Dan @ 3:42 pm

It looks like there’s a new The Cicadas of Thailand book out (or coming out soon).

ISBN 978-974-480-165-4
WL Order Code 22 645
Bangkok 2011
Boulard, Michel; The Cicadas of Thailand, Vol.2. Taxonomy and Sonic Ethology
White Lotus Press

Looks like it will be for sale here.

Cicadas of Thailand 2

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April 5, 2011

The Cicadidae of Japan. Cicada book of the year?

Filed under: Books | Japan — Dan @ 4:37 am

It’s too early to say, but The Cicadidae of Japan might end up being the cicada book of the year. The book was authored by Dr. M. Haysashi and Dr. Yasumasa Saisho (of the incredible Cicadidae of Japan website), and it includes photos and a CD of cicada song.

The book is currently available from Amazon.co.jp.

Information from Dr. Yasumasa Saisho:

Hello. I inform you that “The Cicadidae of Japan” by Dr. M.Hayashi and
myself is published. This book consists of taxonomic exposition, ecological
information, distribution, acoustic attribute of calling songs,
morphological features of Japanese cicadidae with many photos and CD
(including all songs of Japanese species, about 70min).

———-
M. Hayashi and Y. Saisho (2011). The Cicadidae of Japan,
224 pp., Seibundo-shinkosha, Tokyo.
ISBN978-4-416-81114-6
4,600yen

M. Hayashi and Y. Saisho (2011). The Cicadidae of Japan

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January 11, 2011

Greek Entomythology by Artemis Ippotis

Filed under: Books | Pop Culture — Dan @ 9:55 pm

Here’s something fun for fans of entomology, Greek mythology and creativity: Greek Entomythology by Artemis Ippotis. Artemis (Diana Knight) has created a fun and whimsical book that tells Greek myths using photos of insects. The book is truly one of a kind! Artemis is also planing on offering the book as an iPad/iPhone app.

If you’re interesting in obtaining the book, write Diana at:

Diana Knight
The Manor,
Barton Mills,
Suffolk IP 28 6BL
UK

The book features some of my Tibicen photos. I laughed out loud when I saw the Tibicen playing a lyre.

New, here’s a video promo for the book:

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July 23, 2008

The Songs of Insects

Filed under: Anatomy | Audio, Sounds, Songs | Books | Broods — Dan @ 10:02 pm

Lately, we’ve received quite a few emails asking for audio samples of cicadas and katydids so folks can A) tell them apart, and B) tell what species they are. There’s plenty of sites on the web that feature cicada sounds; look for links tagged AUDIO on my cicada links page. Two particularly good sites for sound files Massachusetts Cicadas and Cicada Central.

In my search for good cicada and katydid sounds, many people recommended the book “The Songs of Insects” by Lang Elliott and Wil Hershberger. I ordered it immediately, and it arrived today. I am truly amazed by this book (and audio CD). The book profiles 75 North American singing insects including cicadas, katydids, crickets, and grasshoppers. Each profile features two excellent color photos of each insect, a map of where you can find them, a description, and the audio CD that includes the insect’s song. The book is over 225 pages long, and a high-quality paperback. If you or your kids are interested in signing insects, there’s no better book to buy. All my nieces and nephews are getting this book for Christmas.

The authors of the book have a webpage featuring the songs of the insects featured in the book. Note that the book is lacking in species found in the western U.S. — if you live east of the Rockies this book is awesome.

Listing for bugs is a fun thing to do in these hot summer months — buy this book before the summer ends.

5 out of 5 Marvins.

It is available on Amazon.com.

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