Cicadas in Newton Upper Falls, MA
Sightings Category: Cicadas
Cicadas in Newton Upper Falls, MA
lastnight i found the bodies of 6 adults just feel away from my front door. Yesterday i had no idea what they could be, but after hrs for research, i am 100% sure they are cicadas.
Date Posted: 2009-08-23 Comments: (1) Show Comments Hide Comments
Comments
Posted By: Massachusetts Cicadas | On: 2010-12-06 | Website:
Hi Nicole
Thanks very much for the photos. You are correct those are not discarded shells. Unfortunately though, these are not periodical cicadas. Periodicals have black bodies orange-red eyes and orange red wing veins.
The cicadas in the photos are of one of our common annual varieties known as Tibicen lyricen. What is interesting is that the photos you have taken all seem to be females. I suspect that there is a good "egg laying spot" near your house that is close by.
Female Cicadas of the Tibicen genus like to lay their eggs in dead wood whether it be a dead tree branch, the bark on the side of a tree or even the hand rails of your deck. What's interesting is I believe that when one spot to oviposit is selected that females send out some sort of signal either by sound or by smell that signals other females that "This is a good spot to lay eggs". Its theoretical at this stage but a good one.
After the females lay their eggs they die shortly thereafter.