Latest Cicada News
Okanagana rimosa Habitat
Below are some photos of the habitat where I obtained the O. rimosa at the Montague Plains Wildlife Management area. Not only is this a great place for insects like Cicadas and Cicada Killers but there are wild blueberries growing everywhere for the picking.
Unfortunately, though it seems that O. rimosa is completely done from this area for this year. However, there are Cicada Killers here! Maybe this will be a good spot for other cicadas. I will have to come back here later in the summer
Date Posted: 2007-07-14 Comments: (0) Category: Cicada General Info
Major Cicada Score at Fairview - Westford, Ma
Well folks, this is my first major score of the season. The evening didn't start out like I wanted. I started out at St. Patrick Cemetery in Lowell Ma. This is the place where I found my very first Cicada tenerals back in 2004 when I first got interested in cicadas. There was nary a cicada nymph or teneral to be found.
At around 10:30pm I decided to go to another cemetery which I started to frequent back in 2005 called Fairview Cemetery in Westford, MA. Here is where I hit the jackpot!! I
Date Posted: 2007-07-13 Comments: (0) Category: Cicada General Info
Three Additional O. rimosa Specimens!
That's right folks. I went back to the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area on Saturday July 7th and caught more O. rimosas!! I don't know if it was because it was 07/07/07 and the day was lucky, but I can tell you it was harder than I thought.
I went prepared with plenty of water and my big extension net. I only managed to snag one specimen with the net because the others were too well protected in the pine trees which made them difficult to spot and when trying to use the net, t
Date Posted: 2007-07-12 Comments: (0) Category: Cicada Projects
More On Okanagana rimosa
Well folks, I'm happy to report that the newly-found Okanagana rimosa specimen is still alive and well after 6 days of captivity. As a matter of fact, I have it enclosed in a mesh bag on an oak-tree branch in my yard. Like periodical cicadas, it would seem that Okanagana happily call in captivity.
Having the sun shining directly on the mesh bag seems to trigger the calling. Also they seem to like to call in the late afternoon around 5:00 or 6:00pm. Of course it does call during all times of th
Date Posted: 2007-07-07 Comments: (0) Category: Cicada General Info
Okanagana rimosa Found...Finally!
I have finally captured a specimen of Okanagana rimosa today in Massachusetts. I have been trying to find this species here in Massachusetts since 2004. I knew it was here because I had an old exuvia that I found that year. In fact that nymphal skin of an O. rimosa was the very first skin that I found in Massachusetts when I decided to take up the study of cicadas after the Brood X emergence.
The problem with O. rimosa is that the male's calling song is high pitched and I was getting it confus
Date Posted: 2007-06-30 Comments: (0) Category: Cicada Projects
Brood XIII 2007 Wrap Up
Well, this page concludes the mission on the distribution mapping project for Brood XIII. I left Iowa on June 11th and headed east. I made it mid-way through Indiana that evening and I had to check into a hotel. The next morning I was up real early and finally made it home around 1:00 am in the morning of June 13th.
I had a really great time meeting new people and I learned a lot from the folks at U.C. Storrs. Not to mention that I've seen parts of the United States that I probably
Date Posted: 2007-06-12 Comments: (0) Category: Cicada Missions
Brood XIIII 2007 Cedar Rapids
Last night was the first night I slept in a real bed for a week. It was shear bliss. I also stopped at a Chinese restaurant and had myself a great meal. It sure beat hamburgers and hot dogs and sandwiches out of a cooler. Now I'm rested and ready to go. This will be my last full day of distribution mapping.
First Stop, Cedar Valley Nature Trail
I arrived from the hotel to Cedar Valley Nature Trail at 8:18 am. Unfortunately this was a negative data point for me. But Cedar Valley Nature trail is
Date Posted: 2007-06-11 Comments: (0) Category: Cicada Missions
Brood XIII 2007 Iowa Survey
I woke up early in the morning today because I needed to pack up my car. Everyone was still asleep. It took me a few hours to get everything packed up. I don't suspect I will be camping any more during this trip. I will probably stay in a hotel once I get to Iowa.
I said goodbye to everyone. John gave me some last minute instructions then I gassed up and hit the highway pretty early in the morning.
Arrival at Coralville Lake in Iowa
Well not really, I was actually a few miles south of Coralvi
Date Posted: 2007-06-10 Comments: (0) Category: Cicada Missions
Brood XIII 2007 June 9th
Well time is really getting on. I can't believe I have been away and out of work since May 30th studying Periodical Cicadas! If there was a way I could make money doing this, I'd surely give up the regular 9 - 5 job. I have learned so much and have met some really great people. The US Navy guys have been here for a little over a week and this apparently will be their last day. We continued on with the experiments however just to get the all-important data.
Huge and Loud Aggregation of M
Date Posted: 2007-06-09 Comments: (0) Category: Cicada Missions