Nymphal exoskeleton and newly emerged adult on hackberry next to our back deck. Click to enlarge.
The heat index was above 110 again yesterday. It’s 1 AM, hot and humid already. The dogs and cats are sleeping, while I sit here at the computer listening to the sound of dog day cicadas buzzing up and down the windows and sliding glass door in hope of finding a sufficiently secure foothold that allows them to climb up the side of the house, just as they climb up trees.
Found throughout the northeastern US and southeastern Canada, dog day cicads are found wherever there are mature trees. Nymphs feed underground on root plant juices. Adults do not feed.
Males make the sawlike buzzing sound that drops off near the end, attracting females in large quantities. After mating, females may damage or kill young tree branches when they insert their ovipositors into the branches as they lay their eggs. The life cycle takes three years, but because generations overlap, we can look forward to seeing, and HEARING them, each year.
The appearance and ongoing singing of dog day cicadas is one of the first signs that the new school year is coming. Sound recordings of cicadas and a variety of other singing insects can be accessed at InsectSingers.com. Further information van be found at http://www.timescall.com/news/longmont-local-news/ci_18535084.
Nice!
Thanks, Alex!
I do love the sounds of summer, Mr. Stone
Me, too. I think we need to have a group collecting trip reunion before all of you head off to college!
I would be content for only a group observation session (I do not think my family would be happy with me leaving an insect collection behind as I leave for college) in a field or place not too far away (Kickapoo?)- some people, myself included, would love to do this! (And– about that camping trip– perhaps this could substitute!)
[...] can learn more about cicadas in Illinois at http://thingsbiological.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/dog-day-cicada-tibicen-canicularis/ and http://web.extension.illinois.edu/cicadas/. Eco World Content From Across The Internet. [...]
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