Cicada (Tacua speciosa), family Cicadidae, found in SE Asia
photograph by EnnisFei (@ennisanna_fei)
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one of the best finds of the trip, a freshly moulted cicada drying their wings!
Unknown Cicada (family Cicadidae).
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Uncharismatic Fact of the Day
December is often highly anticipated (or dreaded) for its associated long list of Christmas Carols- but there's another holiday sound that those in Australia dread even more: the double drummer. The largest species of cicada in the country, Thopha saccata is also reportedly the loudest insect in the world. Its name comes from the large pockets that the adult male has on each side of its abdomen which he uses to amplify his mating calls. Even small groups of adults can produce a sound in excess of 120 decibels!
(Image: A double drummer cicada () resting on someone's hand by Dave Britton)
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Bug of the Day
And here it is, fait accompli! A fully emerged and inflated cicada boi, he says see ya lata boi! :-)
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Bush Cicada (Megatibicen dorsatus), family Cicadidae, Mesquite, Texas, USA
photograph by Emilia Fisher
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While flipping over rocks in my backyard, I came across an unusual sight—the dirt underneath the rock was perforated by a number of circular holes. Upon flipping over another rock, I found my answer: the cicada nymphs were digging them!
Cicadas spend the majority of their lives underground as nymphs. During this time, they feed on sap from tree roots, often from the tree their eggs were laid on. These little passageways are being dug in their preparation to reach the surface.
Everyone knows that the cicada nymphs begin to enter their adult forms during midsummer, leaving their exoskeleton behind in the process. However, it is possible to find nymphs going about their business long before that!
Speaking of midsummer: you may be aware that this summer is incredibly special: it is a summer where two separate periodical cicada broods emerge at the same time! Normally, during a ‘Double Emergence,’ the cicada broods are separated by large distances. That’s not the case this year! The 17-year (Brood XIII) and 13-year (Brood XIX) broods are actually remarkably close to one another, and even overlap in some places.
Brood XIX is actually the largest of all periodical cicada broods, and contains 4 different species of 13-year cicadas!
I believe these goobers are members of Brood XII; its territory covers the neighborhood where I live, and their bright red eyes identify them as periodicals.
Cicadas first begin to emerge when the soil is warm enough (about 17.8 degrees Celsius). However, due to climate change, this soil warming is happening earlier than it used to. Already, countless little boreholes have been spotted in Georgia and other places in the Southeast.
Cicadas are creatures of instinct: when the ground warms, they know it’s time to leave. When they must molt, they know to climb up high. And, when they sing, they know they must sing louder and clearer than any other cicada has ever sung before. In this way, we are much more alike cicadas than we are different.
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