Ebay has been a good resource for cicada specimens and Asian artifacts over the years, but you’ll also find toys, fishing lures and other whimsical cicada-themed items.
May 4, 2008
May 3, 2008
The latest 17 year cicada news
Cicadas attending the Kentucky Derby (Minyanville)?
A 13 image slide-show of Magicicada photos (Citizen-Times).
Cicadas coming to Warren County, Kentucky (Bowling Green Daily News).
Cicadas ready to croon in Cincinnati (The Enquirer).
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Cicada Mania featured on Surfin’ with Kirk!
Cicada Mania was featured on WTAP’s Surfin’ with Kirk! Watch the video news report. Very Cool!!!
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Matt Berger’s Cicada Experiment Continues
Earlier I wrote about Matt Berger’s experiment to coerce a nymph to emerge as an adult in captivity. The experiment worked.
Here’s the latest pictures. The cicada has assumed its final, black-colored adult form:
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May 2, 2008
C.L. Marlatt’s Periodical Cicada bulletin online
The USDA National Agriculture Library has published the full 148 page bulletin from 1898 titled The periodical cicada: an account of Cicada septendecim, its natural enemies and the means of preventing its injury : together with a summary of the distribution of the different broods.
The document is viewable as images or in PDF form, and features an abundance of information, and excellent, now public domain illustrations (like those below).
April 30, 2008
The first adult Magicicada
Matt Berger was able to coerce a cicada nymph to enter the adult phase (instar) by raising it indoors (where it is warmer). Congratulations to Matt!
I took a Brood XIV nymph i found under a rock about a week ago, put some soil in a pot, poked a cicada sized hole in the soil and let the cicada burrow in. I wanted to see if I could make them emerge early. I put it in my house where it is warm. It worked! I now have a male (im guessing M. cassini) that just emerged from that hole and shed his skin and is now drying. Probably the first Magicicada to emerge all year! Earliest emergence I have ever heard of (even if it was assisted). Thought it might be interesting for Cicadamania.
Here are some pictures!
Here’s the nymph:
Here’s the adult leaving the nymph skin:
Here’s the teneral adult, still white in color (I will turn black soon enough):
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17 year cicada emergence predictions
Hey everybody!
Using Gene Kritsky’s formula, and the Weather Underground, I’ve pulled together some sample emergence predictions. Chances are I missed your town, but you can use the formula and gab your own prediction.
Louisville Kentucky – May 11th
Lexington Kentucky – May 15th
Cincinnati & Batavia Ohio – May 15th*
Charleston West Virginia – May 11th
Bendersville, PA – May 15th
Islip & Stony Brook, LI — May 16th
Plymouth, MA – May 22
Falmouth, MA – May 24
Looks like the cicadas will start appearing a couple at a time next week, and then starting the following week the full-blow emergences will begin in the southern most states.
* Note: Gene Kritsky wrote to say that he has predicted May 13th for Cincinnati using his formula. The reason the numbers differ is Gene has more precise temperature information.
April 29, 2008
Brood XIV Information Update
Read: Gene’s Book Periodical Cicadas: the Plague and the Puzzle is available through his website. I own it, and can confirm that it’s the best 17 year cicada book your money can buy. It has all the information you need, and it will make a handsome addition to your home library.
Report an emergence: the Cicadas @ UCONN reporting form is live.
The cicadas making the latest appearance are Brood XIV. Brood XIV is centered on the eastern two-thirds of Kentucky, although they are also in 11 other state
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April 27, 2008
Cicada Links and Video to hold you over… part two
Gene Kritsky awaiting their noisy return:
UPI: Scientist awaits cicadas’ noisy return
Gene Kritsky, a professor of biology at the College of Mount St. Joseph, said this year most of the bugs are expected to appear in the area east of Interstate 71.
The Enquirer Cicadas making noisy return
Gene Kritsky, a professor of biology at the College of Mount St. Joseph, says in a news release that cicadas are coming to eastern Cincinnati this May.
Video:
NECN.com: Cicada pheomenon interview with entomologist Doug Fraser. Very good.
A Kentucky article:
News Channel 5: Cicadas ready to reappear in Kentucky after 17 years
Gene Kritsky, a cicada expert at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, says their appearance will be spotty. That could be caused by a number of factors, including development that has dramatically changed landscapes since the early 1990s.
A Cape Cod artlce:
Cape Cod Times: Creeped out by creepy-crawly season on Cape
Periodical cicadas went underground on the Cape 17 years ago, and have been living off tree sap ever since. Experts expect them to emerge from their holes all at once, probably on a night in early May. They can number in the millions per acre, and cling to any vertical surface after coming from their holes, to molt, then fly up into the tree tops to mate.
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April 24, 2008
Is the soil 65 degrees yet?
Hey folks, The Mount’s Cicada Web Site is monitoring the ground temperature in the Cincinnati area. Today it was up to 59.8ºF. Why is that important you ask? Well, once the soil temperature hits 65ºF (8″/20cm deep) the cicadas will emerge. Just 5ºF to go, and yes, cicadas will emerge from sunny areas before shaded areas because the soil will be warmer. (thanks Gene)
BTW, the Cincinnati press is finally catching on that another emergence is about to happen (I think they’re a bit jaded from Brood X).
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