Dedicated to the Study of the Cicadas of Massachusetts and New England

 

Massachusetts Cicadas in Virginia Mapping Brood XIX.

News Category: Cicada Missions

Massachusetts Cicadas in Virginia Mapping Brood XIX.

Brood XIX in Virginia - Massachusetts Cicadas

Hey Folks,

I'm here in Williamsburg, Virginia mapping the northern-most range of the Brood XIX periodical cicadas. I woke up at 4:30 this morning and drove all of 12 hours to get here. Unfortunately, Brood XIX's distribution in Virginia is historically spotty at best. There are only minor emergence areas and some can be less than a mile wide. Not only is Brood XIX known to be in Virginia but there is a small area on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

My friend and colleague, John Zyla from Cicadas.info has been researching and maintaining records of all the different broods of periodical cicadas for the mid-atlantic states. In fact John was the one that discovered the small brood of periodical cicadas in Maryland in 1998. But John's research isn't just limited to periodical cicadas. John also studies, reports and maintains distribution maps on annual cicadas for the mid-atlantic states as well.

Since I had some free time I emailed John and told him I was coming to Virginia to see what there was to see and do some mapping. He asked if I would be willing to lend a hand with his project. I of course accepted on the condition that we each share our data.

Our strategy is to divide up the known ranges for Brood XIX into areas north and west of Williamsburg and areas south and east of Williamsburg. I will take the southern mapping area and John will take the northern area. I am glad that I have a week!

Preliminary Findings: Periodicals in Ashland and Hanover, Va.

To be honest, I really wasn't expecting to find any periodical cicadas during my drive to Williamsburg. After crossing the Potomac River while driving south on Rt 301, I crossed the Virginia border and decided to roll down the windows to hopefully start to hear periodicals. Sure enough approximately 45 minutes after crossing the river I began to hear M. tredecassini in small pockets along 301. The area was only about 2 miles long and was over rather quickly.

I did manage to document not only M. tredecassini but also M. tredecim as well. The towns of Ashland and Hanover are approximately 35 miles north and west of Williamsburg and the areas between these locations seems to be relatively silent but that's just base on my drive on a single highway. There could be other areas

Specimens Obtained in Williamsburg.

Thanks to the reports that I have received from this area, decided to try and obtain some specimens today at sunset after I went out to dinner and obtain a local map.

I managed to obtain 3 specimens at around 7:30 this evening while driving around a known area that was reported to this site and is on the distribution map. I found three specimens, 2 dead and one alive on the side of the road. There were more but I only grabbed three. It was earily silent though. There was no calling from the males even though it was in the 80's and humid. There were several thunderstorms that rolled through earlier in the day so I'm hoping that I'll hear some calling tomorrow. Oh and the specimens I was able to obtain were all M. tredecim

Below is a photo of the live female M. tredecim. Sorry that's all I got for you today. Tomorrow I'm supposed to meet with some people who are going to show me around Williamsburg and the areas where they are hearing the cicadas.

Talk to you soon.

Date Posted: 2011-05-28 Comments: (10) Show CommentsHide Comments

Comments

Posted By: Kevin Byrnes | On: 2017-04-29 | Website: http://www.dcattorneys.org

This page certainly has all of the info I wanted about this subject and didn't know who to ask.

Posted By: Kevin Byrnes | On: 2017-04-29 | Website: http://www.dcattorneys.org

Having read this I believed it was rather enlightening. I appreciate you finding the time and energy to put this short article together. I once again find myself personally spending a lot of time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!

Posted By: Kevin Byrnes | On: 2017-04-29 | Website: http://www.dcattorneys.org

Good post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon every day. It will always be exciting to read through articles from other writers and use something from their web sites.

Posted By: jaime | On: 2017-10-07 | Website: http://www.lasvegasdivorceattorney.org/

That is a very good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere. Simple but very accurate information... Thank you for sharing this one. A must read post!

Posted By: Scott Baker | On: 2017-10-21 | Website: http://www.jacksonvillefamilylaw.org/

Hi, I believe your blog may be having internet browser compatibility issues. Whenever I take a look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other than that, wonderful site!

Posted By: David Hurvitz | On: 2017-10-23 | Website: http://www.thetampadivorceattorney.com/

Saved as a favorite, I love your site!

Posted By: David Hurvitz | On: 2017-10-23 | Website: http://www.thetampadivorceattorney.com/

Saved as a favorite, I love your site!

Posted By: David Hurvitz | On: 2017-10-23 | Website: http://www.thetampadivorceattorney.com/

Excellent article. I will be facing some of these issues as well..

Posted By: Scott Baker | On: 2017-10-24 | Website: http://www.divorceattorneyclearwater.org/

Howdy! This blog post couldn't be written much better! Going through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept talking about this. I will forward this post to him. Pretty sure he'll have a great read. Thanks for sharing!

Posted By: Scott Baker | On: 2017-10-24 | Website: http://www.divorceattorneyclearwater.org/

Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thanks, However I am having problems with your RSS. I don't understand the reason why I cannot subscribe to it. Is there anybody else getting identical RSS problems? Anybody who knows the solution will you kindly respond? Thanks!!

Add Comment
     

Cicada Missions Articles

Missions Articles 2012

Missions Articles 2011

Missions Articles 2010

Missions Articles 2008

Missions Articles 2007

Missions Articles 2006

Missions Articles 2005

Missions Articles 2004

Submit Report

Did you spot an annual cicada or a cicada killer wasp? If you did and you have a photo and want to report it, please click the link below.

Brood I Information

The Brood I periodical cicada emergence happened in 2012 in Virginia, W. Virginia and Tennessee. Below are some of the highlights.

Brood XIX Information

The Brood XIX periodical cicada emergence has come and gone. Below is some information that you may find helpful.