Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
Here’s a video of a Neotibicen lyricen nymph crawling up the trunk of a fir tree, looking for a place to molt. Note the dark eyes and green wing buds. This particular pine tree is my go-to for Lyric cicadas. Here’s another: Neotibicen lyricen molting.
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Here’s a video of a Megatibicen auletes cicada singing at dusk in Brendan T Byrne State Park in New Jersey on July 15th, 2021.
* Note as of 2023 the name of this cicada has changed to Megatibicen grossus. You can also call it a Northern Dusk-Signing Cicada.
Some videos and images of cicada toys and collectibles. Enjoy.
Playlist of videos of a few of the items on this page and more:
Cicada click toy from Japan. Found in an antique store in Ohio:
A larger cicada click toy. I think I found this one on eBay:
Cicada clothes pins. I think Roy Troutman sent me these:
Cicada noise maker. Crank it and it makes a noise.
Cicada face magnet. Found in eBay.
Cicada whistle from Peru. I received this as a gift.
Plus cicada toys from Japan. Found on eBay. The black and green on is a Hyalessa maculaticollis.
Cicada socks:
Cicada spinner whistle:
Carved Bamboo Cicada:
Cicada orni (Ash Cicada) is a cicada found in many European & Asian countries, including Spain, Turkey, Albania, Austria, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Romania, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia. It is also known as the Ash cicada.
Photo by Iván Jesus Torresano García taken in Spain.
A video by Iván Jesus Torresano García taken in Spain.:
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cicadini
SubTribe: Cicadina
Genus: Cicada
Species: Cicada orni Linnaeus, 1758
According to iNaturalist Cicada orni is around between June and August. They peak in July.
For more information about this cicada visit SONGS OF EUROPEAN SINGING CICADAS.
Thanks to Vera L. Nunes for letting us know about a newly described/discovered cicada named Berberigetta dimelodica.
Berberigetta is also a new genus, belonging to the Tribe Cicadettini.
See and listen to it in this YouTube video:
The paper than describes the species is:
Gonçalo João Costa, Vera L. Nunes, Eduardo Marabuto, Raquel Mendes, Telma G. Laurentino, José Alberto Quartau, Octávio S. Paulo, Paula Cristina Simões. 2017. Morphology, songs and genetics identify two new cicada species from Morocco: Tettigettalna afroamissa sp. nov. and Berberigetta dimelodica gen. nov. & sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Cicadettini). Zootaxa. Vol 4237, No 3.
Link to the Zootaxa page for the document.
And here’s a quote of the Abstract:
Morocco has been the subject of very few expeditions on the last century with the objective of studying small cicadas. In the summer of 2014 an expedition was carried out to Morocco to update our knowledge with acoustic recordings and genetic data of these poorly known species. We describe here two new small-sized cicadas that could not be directly assigned to any species of North African cicadas: Tettigettalna afroamissa sp. nov. and Berberigetta dimelodica gen. nov. & sp. nov. In respect to T. afroamissa it is the first species of the genus to be found outside Europe and we frame this taxon within the evolutionary history of the genus. Acoustic analysis of this species allows us to confidently separate T. afroamissa from its congeners. With B. dimelodica, a small species showing a remarkable calling song characterized by an abrupt frequency modulation, a new genus had to be erected. Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses with DNA-barcode sequences of Cytochrome C Oxidase 1 support the monophyly of both species, their distinctness and revealed genetic structure within B. dimelodica. Alongside the descriptions we also provide GPS coordinates of collection points, distributions and habitat preferences.
I took a lot of cicada photos and video when I traveled to Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio. Matt Berger also contributed a gallery of cicada photos to the site.
Some of my photos:
Photos of the Brood V emergence by Matt Berger.
A sample of Matt’s photos. Click/tab for larger versions:
A Variety of Eye Colors by Matt Berger. Brood V.
Gray Eyed Cicada Up Close by Matt Berger. Brood V.
Molting Cicadas:
Magicicada with White Eyes:
This video points some of the anatomical features of a freshly molted Magicicada, like it’s tarsal claws, rostrum, clypeus, stylets, and spiracles.
The video was made with Camtasia and Pixelmator — nothing fancy; just a quick video for people experiencing molting cicadas for the first time.
If you’re writing an article about the coming emergence of the 17-year periodical cicadas, please use the correct genus & species of cicadas.
The genus of all 17-year cicadas is Magicicada, and they are never green. The three species of 17-year cicadas are Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini, and Magicicada septendecula. They’re all black with orange wings and legs and red eyes (some exceptions, but they’re never green). The four species of 13-year cicadas are Magicicada neotredecim, Magicicada tredecim, Magicicada tredecassini and Magicicada tredecula (also never green). More information about these species.
An adult Magicicada septendecim by Dan Mozgai/cicadamania.com:
An adult Magicicada septendecim by Dan Mozgai/cicadamania.com:
A newly emerged, teneral, Magicicada septendecim by Dan Mozgai/cicadamania.com:
17-year cicada video:
A singing Magicicada septendecim:
Singing Magicicada septendecim from Cicada Mania on Vimeo.
A Magicicada septendecim laying eggs:
A Magicicada septendecim up close (deceased):
Magicicada on a tree (mostly Magicicada cassini):
For the sake of cicada correctness, feel free to use them in your article. Just credit cicadamania.com.
If you are looking to license Magicicada images or HD Video, Roy Troutman has plenty of both. Reach out to him if interested. His images and video are tagged throughout the site.
Hundreds of shed cicada skins (exuvia) by Troutman:
Click/tap for a larger version:
If the cicada you use in your article is green, it isn’t a 17-year cicada. I repeat: if the cicada is green it is not a 17-year cicada.
The cicada at the top of the Wikipedia page for cicadas is not a 17-year cicada, it’s an annual cicada called Neotibicen linnei:
(photo credit for this Neotibicen linnei).
Need a speaker for a Cicada Convention or a Periodical Cicada Event? Try these folks:
Update! New packaging for the Clustering Cicada fireworks (thx Roy). Find it here.
The Fourth of July should be fun this year at Roy Troutman’s place. Check out the Clustering Cicada fireworks he found.
"Chirping Cicada" firework from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.
Depending on where you live, it might be warm enough for periodical cicadas to start moving around underground, or start digging tunnels to the surface and building cicada “chimneys” above their holes.
What to look for:
1) Animals can hear the cicadas stirring underground, and will try to dig them up and eat them. Look for holes (about the size of a walnut or larger) made by animals digging for cicadas.
2) Look for cicadas under stones and slates. Some cicadas will burrow their way to the surface, but they hit a large stone or slate and can go no further.
If you find them in this situation, gently put the stone or slate back. They will usually find their way around the obstruction once the time is right.
One clue that a Magicicada nymph is not ready to emerge is its eyes are still white. Their eyes turn red/orange before emerging (a few retain a white/blue color).
3) Cicada holes are about the size of a dime. Cicadas preemptively dig holes to the surface and wait until the weather is nice enough for them to emerge. Sometimes you can see them down in the holes.
Magicicada holes
4) Cicadas form chimneys above their holes when the soil is moist or muddy. These chimneys might look like a simple golf ball-sized dome or a structure over six inches tall.
Photo by Roy Troutman.
Periodical cicadas typically won’t emerge until their body temperature reaches approximately 65 degrees Fahrenheit (17-19.5 Celsius1). Their bodies are warmed by surrounding soil or warm water from rain. A good rule of thumb is, if the soil 8 inches(20 cm) deep is 65°F, the conditions are good that they might emerge.
And here’s how to tell if a nymph is ready to molt:
1Heath, J.E. 1968. Thermal synchronization of emergence in periodical “17-year” cicadas (Homoptera. Cicadidae, Magicicada). American Midland Naturalist 80:440—448.
