Cicada Mania

Diceroprocta olympusa photos by Joe Green

Post author By Dan
Post date February 29, 2020
2 Comments on Diceroprocta olympusa photos by Joe Green

Diceroprocta olympusa photos by Joe Green from 2007. Florida.

Diceroprocta olympusa photos by Joe Green from 2007.

Tags D. olympusa

Brood X Eye Color Magicicada Periodical Photos & Illustrations Roy Troutman

Photos of Magicicada cicadas with white & blue eyes by Roy Troutman

Post author By Dan
Post date February 28, 2020
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Photos of Magicicada cicadas with white & blue eyes by Roy Troutman from 2004.

Photo of a Magicicada cicada with blue eyes by Roy Troutman.

Photo of a Magicicada cicada with white eyes by Roy Troutman.

Arts & Crafts

Cicada Skin Lamps by Gaye Williams

Post author By Dan
Post date February 28, 2020
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Cicada Skin (exuvia, molts, “shells”) Lamps by Gaye Williams.

Cicada Skin Lamps by Gaye Williams

Magicicada Periodical Photos & Illustrations

Magicicada Photos by Gwen Elferdink from Brood X, 2004

Post author By Dan
Post date February 28, 2020
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17-year Magicicada Photos by Gwen Elferdink from Brood X 2004.

Magicicada photo by Gwen Elferdink

Arts & Crafts

Vincent van Gogh’s Three Cicadas

Post author By Dan
Post date November 10, 2019
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People love cicada art possibly more than they love cicadas (my social media posts about cicada art get more views than photos of cicadas).

Here’s Vincent van Gogh’s Three Cicadas. It’s an ink & paper sketch and study. He created it in 1889, in Saint-rémy-de-provence, France. If you want to see it IRL, it’s at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Vincent van Gogh's Three Cicadas

I’d like to, but I can’t think of something clever to say about the fact that cicadas sing, and van Gogh removed his left ear.

Derotettix

Derotettiginae subfamily nov. as a new, monogeneric, fifth cicada subfamily

Post author By Dan
Post date November 9, 2019
No Comments on Derotettiginae subfamily nov. as a new, monogeneric, fifth cicada subfamily

There’s a new cicada subfamily: Derotettiginae.

The five subfamilies are:

Derotettiginae (NEW)
Tibicininae
Tettigomyiinae
Cicadettinae
Cicadinae

Here’s the paper:

Chris Simon, Eric R L Gordon, M S Moulds, Jeffrey A Cole, Diler Haji, Alan R Lemmon, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Michelle Kortyna, Katherine Nazario, Elizabeth J Wade, Russell C Meister, Geert Goemans, Stephen M Chiswell, Pablo Pessacq, Claudio Veloso, John P Mccutcheon, Piotr Lukasik, Off-target capture data, endosymbiont genes and morphology reveal a relict lineage that is sister to all other singing cicadas, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, , blz120, https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blz120

Here’s the abstract:

Phylogenetic asymmetry is common throughout the tree of life and results from contrasting patterns of speciation and extinction in the paired descendant lineages of ancestral nodes. On the depauperate side of a node, we find extant ‘relict’ taxa that sit atop long, unbranched lineages. Here, we show that a tiny, pale green, inconspicuous and poorly known cicada in the genus Derotettix, endemic to degraded salt-plain habitats in arid regions of central Argentina, is a relict lineage that is sister to all other modern cicadas. Nuclear and mitochondrial phylogenies of cicadas inferred from probe-based genomic hybrid capture data of both target and non-target loci and a morphological cladogram support this hypothesis. We strengthen this conclusion with genomic data from one of the cicada nutritional bacterial endosymbionts, Sulcia, an ancient and obligate endosymbiont of the larger plant-sucking bugs (Auchenorrhyncha) and an important source of maternally inherited phylogenetic data. We establish Derotettiginae subfam. nov. as a new, monogeneric, fifth cicada subfamily, and compile existing and new data on the distribution, ecology and diet of Derotettix. Our consideration of the palaeoenvironmental literature and host-plant phylogenetics allows us to predict what might have led to the relict status of Derotettix over 100 Myr of habitat change in South America.

Tweets from Chris Simon @CicadaScience announcing the new subfamily:

One of our undergrads, Rachel Wolther, created this wonderful GIF for our newly published paper. #uconneeb, #endosymbionts, #cicadas https://t.co/rjdXSCginJ pic.twitter.com/uRppf8ZT0K

— Chris Simon (@CicadaScience) October 13, 2019

Off-target genomic capture data, Sulcia endosymbiont genes and morphology reveal a relict lineage that is sister to all other singing cicadas: a tiny, pale green, inconspicuous and poorly known genus, Derotettix, endemic to salt-plain habitats in arid regions of central Argentina pic.twitter.com/xUhtMPWmgk

— Chris Simon (@CicadaScience) October 13, 2019

Papers and Documents

Cicada Papers Published in 2019

Post author By Dan
Post date September 21, 2019
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This is a running list of papers or documents published about cicadas in the year 2019. 35 so far (as of November).

If I missed an article, email me at cicadamania@gmail.com.

December

An augmented wood-penetrating structure: Cicada ovipositors enhanced with metals and other inorganic elements. Authors: Matthew S. Lehnert, Kristen E. Reiter, Gregory A. Smith & Gene Kritsky . Link to Nature.

October

A revision of the Yoyetta abdominalis (Distant) species group of cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadettinae), introducing eight new species. Authors: David Emery, Nathan Emery, Lindsay Popple. Link to Journals Australia Museum.
Off-target capture data, endosymbiont genes and morphology reveal a relict lineage that is sister to all other singing cicadas. Authors: Chris Simon, Eric R L Gordon, M S Moulds, Jeffrey A Cole, Diler Haji, Alan R Lemmon, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Michelle Kortyna, Katherine Nazario, Elizabeth J Wade, Russell C Meister, Geert Goemans, Stephen M Chiswell, Pablo Pessacq, Claudio Veloso, John P Mccutcheon, Piotr Lukasik. Link to Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Noisy neighbours among the selfish herd: a critical song distance mediates mate recognition within cicada emergences (Hemiptera: Cicadidae). Authors: Will Chatfield-Taylor, Jeffrey A Cole. Link to Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Genital coupling, morphology and evolution of male holding structures in Cicadinae (Hemiptera: Cicadidae). Authors: Tatiana Petersen Ruschel, Filipe Michels Bianchi, Luiz Alexandre Campos. Link to Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Psychoactive plant- and mushroom-associated alkaloids from two behavior modifying cicada pathogens. Authors: Greg R. Boyce, Emile Gluck-Thaler, Jason C. Slot, Jason E. Stajich, William J. Davis, Tim Y.James, John R. Cooley, Daniel G. Panaccione, JÃ¸rgen Eilenberg, Henrik H. De Fine Licht, Angie M. Macias, Matthew C. Berger, Kristen L. Wickert, Cameron M. Stauder, Ellie J. Spahr, Matthew D. Maust, Amy M. Metheny, Chris Simon, Gene Kritsky, Kathie T. Hodge, Richard A.Humber, Terry Gullion, Dylan P.G. Short, Teiya Kijimoto, Dan Mozgai, Nidia Arguedas, Matt T. Kasson. Link to sciencedirect.com

September

A note on the taxonomy and natural history of the Summer Clicker Lahugada dohertyi (Distant, 1891) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadidae) along with its distribution in northern West Bengal, India. Authors: Vivek Sarkar. Like to the Journal of Threatened Taxa.
Gold coated Cicada wings: Anti-reflective micro-environment for plasmonic enhancement of fluorescence from upconversion nanoparticles. Authors: Akash Gupta, Hao-Yu Cheng, Kung-Hsuan Lin, Chien Ting Wu, Pradip Kumar Roy, Sandip Ghosh, Surojit Chattopadhyay. Link to Science Direct.
A new species and first record of the cicada genus Sinotympana Lee, 2009 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Dundubiini) from Vietnam. Authors: THAI-HONG PHAM, ALLEN F. SANBORN, HUYEN-THI NGUYEN, JEROME CONSTANT. Link to Zootaxa.

August

A New Species of Calopsaltria Stål, 1861 (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae: Cicadettinae: Parnisini) from South Africa. Author: Allen F. Sanborn. Link to paper.
The cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) of Bolivia including the descriptions of fifteen new species, the resurrection of one genus and two species, seven new combinations, six new synonymies, and twenty-eight new records. Author: ALLEN F. SANBORN. Link to Zootaxa.

July

Periodical cicada emergence resource pulse tracks forest expansion in a tallgrass prairie landscape. Authors: Matt R. Whiles, Bruce A. Snyder, Brent L. Brock, Sophia Bonjour, Mac A. Callaham Jr., Clinton K. Meyer, Alex Bell. Link to Ecosphere journal.

June

The cicada genus Selymbria Stå1, 1861 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Tibicininae: Selymbrini): redescription including ten new species and a key to the genus. Author: Allen F Sanborn. Link to Zootaxa.
Cicada Endosymbionts Have tRNAs That Are Correctly Processed Despite Having Genomes That Do Not Encode All of the tRNA Processing Machinery. Authors: James T. Van Leuven, Meng Mao, Denghui D. Xing, Gordon M. Bennett, John P. McCutcheon. Link to mBio
An enigmatic fossil hairy cicada (Hemiptera, Tettigarctidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Authors: Hui Jiang, Jun Chen, Ed Jarzembowski, Bo Wang. Link to article
Comparative sialotranscriptome analysis of the rare Chinese cicada Subpsaltria yangi, with identification of candidate genes related to host-plant adaptation. Authors: Yunxiang Liu, Mengmeng Qi, Christopher H. Dietrich, Zhiqiang He, Cong Wei. Link to article

May

First record of the cicadas genus Orientopsaltria Kato, 1944 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) from Vietnam, with description of one new species. Authors: Thai-Hong Pham, Thi Huyen Nguyen, Jerome Constant. Link to Zootaxa

April

The applications of biomimetic cicada-wing structure on the organic light-emitting diodes. Authors: Chih-Kai Nien, Hsin Her Yu. Link to Science Direct.
Oxygen/phosphorus co-doped porous carbon from cicada slough as high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors. Authors: Bingwei Chen, Wenzhuo Wu, Chunyang Li, Yanfang Wang, Yi Zhang, Lijun Fu, Yusong Zhu, Lixin Zhang & Yuping Wu. Link to Nature.
The winner takes it all: how semelparous insects can become periodical. Authors: Odo Diekmann, Robert Planqué. Link to springer.com.
A new species of larval Caeculisoma (Acari: Erythraeidae) parasitic on cicadas from China with detailed comparison of all larval members in the genus. Authors: Si-Yuan Xu, Tian-Ci Yi, Jian-Jun Guo, and Dao-Chao Jin. Link to bioone.org
Characterization of polymorphic loci for two cicada species: Cryptotympana atrata and Hyalessa fuscata (Hemiptera: Cicadoidae). Author(s): Hoa Quynh Nguyen,Soyeon Chae, Erick Kim, Yikweon Jang. Link to paper.

March

New Host Records and Biological Notes for Diceroprocta bulgara (Distant) in Mexico. Authors: José Antonio Sánchez-García , José JoaquÃn Velázquez-Monreal , Héctor Miguel Guzmán-Vásquez , Roselia Jarquín-López , Jesús Alberto OrtÃz-López , Miguel Ãngel Manzanilla-RamÃrez , Manuel Ovando-Cruz , Teodulfo Aquino-Bolaños , Allen F. Sanborn. Link to paper.
Cicada slough-derived heteroatom incorporated porous carbon for supercapacitor: Ultra-high gravimetric capacitance. Authors: Haiyang Jia, Jiawei Sun, Xiao Xie, Kuibo Yin, Litao Sun. Link to articles.
Evolutionary hysteresis and ratchets in the evolution of periodical cicadas. Author(s): Jaakko Toivonen and Lutz Fromhage. Link to paper.
The effects of pulsed fertilization and chronic herbivory by periodical cicadas on tree growth. Author(s): Louie H. Yang, Richard Karban. Link to paper.
Mitochondrial Genomics Reveals Shared Phylogeographic Patterns and Demographic History among Three Periodical Cicada Species Groups. Author(s): Zhenyong Du, Hiroki Hasegawa, John R Cooley, Chris Simon, Jin Yoshimura, Wanzhi Cai, Teiji Sota, Hu Li. Link to paper.
Homoptera — Cicadas and Hoppers. Author(s): Ying Wang, Xiao Zhang, Tingying Zhang, Xue Liu, Chungkun Shih, Yunzhi Yao, Dong Ren. Link to paper.
Mesodiphthera Tillyard, 1919, from the Late Triassic of Queensland, the oldest cicada (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Cicadoidea: Tettigarctidae). Author(s): KEVIN J. LAMBKIN. Link to paper.
Out of Africa? A dated molecular phylogeny of the cicada tribe Platypleurini Schmidt (Hemiptera: Cicadidae), with a focus on African genera and the genus Platypleura Amyot & Audinet-Serville. Author(s): Benjamin W. Price, David C. Marshall, Nigel P. Barker, Chris Simon, Martin H. Villet. Link to paper.
Ecophysiological responses to climate change in cicadas. Author(s): Minoru Moriyama , Hideharu Numata. Link to paper.

February

Intra- and Interspecific Prey Theft in Cicada Killers (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Sphecius) . Author(s): J R Coelho, C W Holliday, J M Hastings. Link to paper.

January

Phylogeny and biogeography of the leaf-winged cicadas (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae). Author(s): Tatiana Petersen Ruschel, Luiz Alexandre Campos. Link to paper.
A Simple Model of Periodic Reproduction: Selection of Prime Periods. Author(s): Raul Abreu de Assis, MazÃlio Coronel Malavazi. Link to paper.
First hairy cicadas in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Tettigarctidae). Author(s): Yanzhe Fu, Chenyang Cai, Diying Huang. Link to paper.
Investigation of nanostructure-based bactericidal effect derived from a cicada wing by using QCM-D. Authors: Keisuke Jindai, Kazuki Nakadea, Takashi Sagawa, Hiroaki Kojima, Tomohiro Shimizu, Shoso Shingubara, Takeshi Ito. Link to Science Direct.
Hemiptera of Canada. Authors: Robert G. Foottit, H. Eric L. Maw, Joel H. Kits, Geoffrey G. E. Scudder. Link to Zookeys.

Eggs Magicicada Nymphs Ovipositing Periodical

Check for first instar periodical cicada nymphs

Post author By Dan
Post date August 7, 2019
12 Comments on Check for first instar periodical cicada nymphs

It’s been about six weeks since the emergence of Brood VIII in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Oklahoma. Now (first week of August) is a good a time as any to check for periodical cicada nymphs that have hatched from eggs laid in branches. Once they hatch they’ll find their way to the ground, where they’ll find and begin feeding on roots for the next 17 years.

Look on branches where cicada laid their eggs.

An illustration of egg nests (Marlatt 1907 Egg Nest Detail):

A nymph on a branch with adult male finger for comparison:
Periodical Cicada Nymph

Close up:
Periodical Cicada Nymph

Another close up:
Periodical Cicada Nymph

Annual

Annual Cicada Season in the U.S.A.

Post author By Dan
Post date June 24, 2019
40 Comments on Annual Cicada Season in the U.S.A.

Annual cicada species are those that arrive every year (annually). In the U.S.A., each continental state has at least 4 species of cicadas. California as over 80.

Wonder which annual cicadas are in your area? Try our cicada species page. If you’re outside the U.S.A., start your search here.

Some guides for identifying Neotibicen & Megatibicen, a common genus of cicadas in North America:

Three other excellent resources include: iNaturalist (enter a cicada name, and find out when people find them), BugGuide (USA), and Insect Singers (for sounds).

Here are a small portion of the species that can be found in the USA:

Diceroprocta apache Common Name: Citrus Cicada Locations: AZ, CA, CO, NV, UT When: June-September. Peaks in July.	Diceroprocta olympusa> Common Name: Olympic Scrub Cicada Locations: AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC When: June-August. Peaks in August.	Neocicada hieroglyphica Common Name: Hieroglyphic Cicada Locations: AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MS, MO, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA When: May-August. Peaks in June.
Okanagana bella Common Name: Mountain Cicada Locations: AB, AZ, BC, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY When: June-July. Peaks in June.	Okanagana rimosa Common Name: Say’s Cicada Locations: AB, BC, CA, CT, ID, IL, IN, IA, ME, MB, MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NV, NB, NH, NJ, NY, ND, OH, ON, OR, PA, QC, SD, UT, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY When: May-July. Peak in June.	Neotibicen superbus Common Name: Superb Dog-Day Cicada Locations: AR, KS, LA, MO, NM, OK, TX When: June-August. Peak in July.
Neotibicen dorsatus Common Name: Bush Cicada or Grand Western or Giant Grassland Cicada Locations: AR, CO, ID, IL, IA, KS, MO, MT, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WY When: July-September. Peaks in August.	Cicadettana calliope Common Name: Southern Grass Cicada Locations: AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MS, MO, NE, NC, OH, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA When: May-August, peaking in July.	Neotibicen pruinosus Common Name: Scissor(s) Grinder Locations: AL, AR, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, WV, WI When: June-October. Peak in August.

Here’s a list by state:

By State

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Brood VIII Magicicada Periodical

My Brood VIII Report

This year Brood VIII periodical cicadas emerged in the Pittsburgh area, and I traveled to see and map them. Unfortunately, I only had 3 days, so I only saw the western side of the Brood.

Mating Magicicada septendecim

All things considered — including cool, cloudy weather (which cicadas don’t like as much as hot & sunny) and a very rainy spring — Brood VIII was the least impressive brood I’ve witnessed, in terms of the sheer number of cicadas. I hope no one in the Pittsburgh area takes offense to that statement — Brood VIII is your brood, and you should be proud of it. It is just that as we humans build more and more, and continue to alter the environment, the numbers of cicadas will steadily dwindle. and I think we’re seeing that happen to Brood VIII.

Here’s an impromptu map of the places I saw cicadas:

Brood VIII Mapping