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University of Michigan
Periodical Cicada Page 
Cicadas

UC Clermont College... Start here

Ohio's Backyard--Periodical Cicadas by Gene Kritsky

There are upward of 150 species of cicadas in the United States and around 2,000 around the world.
Emerging    
"Cicadas do not possess special defensive mechanisms -- they do not sting or bite. The ovipositor (which some may mistake for a stinger) is used only for laying eggs and the mouth parts are used only for feeding on twigs; thus, periodical cicadas can hurt you only if they mistake you for a tree branch!" University of Michigan

After emerging from the ground,  the cicada climbs up a tree or shrub to shed its shell.  It makes an opening in the back of the shell then crawls out leaving the shell attached. If it hasn't become a bird snack by now, it dries it's wings then goes about the business of  drinking and  making babies.

When approached, a cicada will simply fly away. If handled, both males and females struggle to fly, and males make a loud defensive buzzing sound that may startle but is otherwise harmless. Cicadas are not poisonous or known to transmit disease." University of Michigan Periodical Cicada Page.  It is the male that makes all of the noise.

"After mating, adult female cicadas use their blade like ovipositor to make long openings in new growth sections of tree branches. A female usually lays 20 to 30 eggs in each opening, and there can be several egg "nests" per branch. During her short adult life stage, each female lays approximately 600 eggs. The eggs take six to eight weeks to mature then the nymphs drop to the ground and immediately begin their descent into an underground world." John Folz University of Florida 

"Eggs hatch into nymphs, which drop to the ground and burrow into the soil, where they suck juices from roots of trees and shrubs. Depending upon the species, cicada nymphs remain underground from 1 to 17 years, then emerge."  4-40.com

We are expecting the "adult periodical cicadas, Magicicada spp., they are sucking insects, about 1.5-inches long, that appear from May to July. They are most numerous in the last two weeks of May and first week of June. They are black and have reddish-orange eyes and legs. Adults have clear wings with orange veins that are held roof-like over their bodies." Ohio Online Fact Sheet

Map of "invasion" area

Ohio State Fact Sheet

A brief history of Cicadas

Easy Facts for Kids

Kids' Cicada Hunt

Summer of Singing Cicadas

Cicada Killer

Lifecycle

Great Close-ups all stages 

Activities

Coloring Page

"Yellow Monday" Cicada from Australia 

English:  Cicada
French:  Cigale
German: Zikade
Italian:    Cicala
Spanish: Cigarra

Literature
When the Woods Hum by Joanne Ryder K-3

Cicada Sing-Song  by Densey Clyne Cicadas in Australia

People in some parts of the world eat Cicada as a regular part of their diet.
A brief history of the Cicada
The information below is from the Great Lakes Cicada Page


The great photos and information make it worth putting up with the advertising. 

65 Million Years Ago: Cretaceous Period - The first known cicadas in the fossil record.

200 BC: India Cicadas are mentioned in the Hindu Laws - "The Institutes of Manu."
300 BC: Cicadas are used as figurines in Italian Jewry.
332 BC: Cicadas are kept as pets by the ancient Greeks.  They are also studied and written about by Aristotle.
500 BC: Cicadas are used in the artwork of ancient Greek coins.
560 BC: The fable of the "Cicada & the Ant" is told by the slave, AEsop the Phrygian. 
1766 BC: Shang Dynasty - Cicadas are used in Chinese art.
1122 BC: Chou Dynasty - Jade cicadas are used in religious ritual burials as symbols of the soul.
735 AD: Chinese Emperor Hang Ts'ung regards cicadas as symbols of the passage from mortal life to a higher state.
1633 AD: The first Magicicada emergence is observed in the new world by the Plymouth Colony.
1650 AD:  A cicada is observed being devoured by a mantis by swordsman Wang Lang.  Lang creates the Mantis (Kung Fu) Fighting Style.
1666 AD: The Brood XIV emergence becomes the first published account of the Magicicada by H. Oldenberg.
1759 AD: Magicicada septendecim is recognized and named "Cicada septendecim" by Swedish Scientist, Carolus Linnaeus.
1764 AD: Superstitions of war become instituted with the Magicicada.
1812 AD: Dr. S. P. Hildreth of Ohio confirms the 17 year life cycle of the Northern Magicicada.
1825 AD: The Genus name "Tibicen" is assigned to many of the Dog-Day Cicadas by P.A. Latreille.
1851 AD: M. cassini is identified and named a separate species by Dr. J.C. Fisher.  The name was in honor of John Cassin's field research.
1858 AD: Dr. D. L. Phares confirms the existence of a 13 year life cycle in Southern Magicicadas.
1865 AD: U.S. Department of Agriculture Entomologist Charles V. Riley publishes his first cicada bulletin and continues to do so for years after until Charles L. Marlatt takes over the project.
1868 AD: The known Magicicada species is increased to 4 as 13 year M. tredecim are recognized and named separate from the 17 year races by Benjamin D. Walsh and Charles V. Riley.
1889 AD: W. L. Distant begins to classify many families and species of cicada which become the focus of his life. 
1898 AD: U.S Department of Agriculture Entomologist Charles L. Marlatt begins to map and assign names to the different Magicicada Broods.
1906 AD:  W. L. Distant publishes his "Synonymic Catalogue of Homoptera: Cicadidae."
1907 AD: C.L. Marlatt redefines the Brood areas and renames them to what we still use today.
1925 AD: The Genus name "Magicicada" is assigned to the Periodical Cicada by William T. Davis.
1940 AD: The U.S. Department of Agriculture discontinues the Brood mapping project due to the outbreak of World War II.
1953 AD: M. septendecula is field studied by D. J. Borror and C.R. Reese.
1962 AD: Richard Alexander and Thomas E. Moore further describe the species M. septendecula and M. tredecula.
1976 AD: R.S. Soper publishes his study of the proto periodicity of Okanagana rimosa, revealing the species to possibly have a 9 year life cycle.
1988 AD: Brood X has a major 1 year deceleration in Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky.
1996 AD (March): The first Magicicada preserve is proposed in Hamden, Connecticut near Sleeping Giant  Park by Yale University.
1996 AD (June):  The web page "Cicada Mania" is launched by Dan Century and becomes a worldwide renown cicada information resource.
1998 AD: A new 13 year cicada species "M. neotredecim" is discovered by C. Simon, John Cooley, David Marshall, & A. P. Martin.
1998 AD (May): 17 year Brood IV and 13 year Brood XIX emerge together in Missouri and Iowa.  A phenomenon that only occurs once every 221 years (17 X 13).
2000 AD: 1/100 of Brood X emerges 4 years ahead of schedule in parts of Southern Ohio which remains consistent in the past century and demonstrates evidence of a new Brood that is beginning to evolve.
2001 AD: After years of study and fascination, I finally get off my buttocks and create the "Great Lakes Cicada Page."  A new page for the new Millennium!