Cicadas By Caitlin Wendt Cicadas begin their lives

Cicadas By Caitlin Wendt

• Cicadas begin their lives as a rice shaped egg which the female deposits in a groove she makes in a tree limb using her ovipositor. The groove provides shelter and exposes the tree fluids, which the young cicadas feed on These grooves. When the branches die and turn brown, it it is called flagging. • Once the egg hatches the cicada begins to feed on the tree fluids. At this point it looks like a termite or small white ant. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig until it finds roots to feed on. • Once roots are found the cicada will stay underground from 2 to 17 years depending on the species.

Cicada’s lifecycle! Top, Left to Right: cicada egg, freshly hatched nymph, 2 nd and 3 rd instar nymphs. Bottom, Left to Right: 4 th instar nymph, teneral adult, adult. (Photos by Roy Troutman and Elias Bonaros).

After the long 2 to 17 years, cicadas emerge from the ground as nymphs. Nymphs climb the nearest available tree, and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. Free of their old skin, their wings will inflate with fluid and their adult skin will harden. Once their new wings and body are ready, they can begin their brief adult life.

Cicadas are insects, best known for the songs sung by most, but not all, male cicadas. They make this sound by flexing their tymbals, which are drum-like organs found in their abdomens. Small muscles rapidly pull the tymbals in and out of shape — like a child's clicktoy. The sound is intensified by the cicada's mostly hollow abdomen. Female and some male cicadas will also make a sound by flicking their wings, but it isn't the same as the song cicadas are known for.

An illustration of cicada tymbals from C. L. Marlatt's The Periodical Cicada. c shows the muscles and tendons connected to the tymbals, and d & e show the bending of the tymbal.

There are over 190 varieties (including species & subspecies) of cicada in North America, and over 3, 390 varieties of cicadas around the world. Cicadas exist on every continent but Antarctica

https: //vimeo. com/20985355 Please watch this video I found about cicadas! You can find all information of all my slides at http: //www. cicadamania. com/