Cicada shell

Hi all,

I was looking around the garden for some inspiration when I saw this clinging to the fence. Not really a macro more of an extreme close up (it was about 40mm long)

[IMG]http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb113/pnjmcc/thumb_IMGP5567copy.jpg[/IMG]

So as soon as I stopped screaming and realised it was an empty shell, I nipped in and got the camera.

Regards
PaulM

Regards
PaulM

It was quiet then, these can be very loud in the evenings.

Good capture.

Regards

Have a look at my post of one just after the insect emerges from the nymph case.
(don't scream though...

Sometimes there are benefits to living in the U.K.

Sorry pnjmcc,
I could not seem to upload it here so I've posted it in the galery. You can use the tag 'cicada' or insect to find it.
Cheers mate

We get cicadas here.....

Mind you they are confined to one or two sites in the New Forest so your probably 'safe' unless you go looking for them!

Why so much hysteria surrounding Cicadas? They are perfectly harmless assuming you ignore the fact that the noise they make is relentless and will drive you mental.

We have them here in the summer. All summer, every day, from sunrise to sunset. When they stop making their racket, the crickets take over.

One I took in Spain. As Peter says, harmless apart from that terrible racket they make .. drove me loopy at times.




And a Skin.

That skin looks as though it is covered in gold leaf. Amazing.

G

As you both said - they are harmless and in fact do not even do any damage to the trees where the female lays the eggs in the bark.
I have been told that they are sought-after delicacies just after hatching but I forgot to ask if they are eaten raw or not .
I live in Indonesia presently and they are plentiful in the forest here. They fascinate me and I have a collection of photos (I have posted three here)just after hatching, a bit later when the wings turn black from the earlier whitish clour and then much later when the adults have the translucent wings as the above photo.
However, I have yet to find a nymph case before the insect starts to hatch. I think the emergence would make a great series!
The nymph lives underground for years and in most species for a prime number of years so as to avoid a predator wasp which has a even number of years life cycle - that way they only meet seldomly. There is a species of cicada in North America that stays undergrouond for 15 or 17 years! They then come oout, make the noise to find a mate, they then mate and the female lays the eggs in the tree. The cicadas die, the eggs hatch and fall to the ground where the nymph burrows underground to live off root sap for years. Ain't nature wonderful

These are known as Periodical Cicadas and it's 13 or 17 years.

Most Cicadas live underground for many years but not all species are synchronised in their emergence like the Periodical Cicadas. This behaviour is apparently to avoid clashes with a predatory wasp.

The following text is copied from Wikipedia:-

There are seven recognized species. Three species have a 17-year cycle:

* Magicicada cassini (Linnaeus, 1758 )
* Magicicada septendecim (Fisher)
* Magicicada septendecula (Alexander and Moore, 1962)

Four more species follow a 13-year cycle:

* Magicicada neotredecim (Marshall and Cooley, 2000)
* Magicicada tredecim (Walsh and Riley, 1868 )
* Magicicada tredecassini (Alexander and Moore, 1962)
* Magicicada tredecula (Alexander and Moore, 1962)

Generally, the 17-year cicadas are distributed more in the northern states of the eastern United States, while the 13-year cicadas occur in the southern states.

I've seen them sold by street vendors deep-fried (in sets of 5 on satay sticks) in Northern Thailand. Crunchy, apparently.

Mannesty,
not really Hysteria more shock and supprise at seeing it. I had never seen one before so I had no what to expect. I didn't go looking for it I just caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye !

Mike-p
Love the look of the shell you took, like george said it looks like its covered in gold

Cameralucida
Great shot

Regards
PaulM