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| CicadaYear.com: cicadas are between 2 and 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) long. Cicadas have prominent eyes set wide apart on the sides of the head, short antennae protruding between or in front of the eyes, and membranous front wings. Some cicadas produce sounds louder than 100 dB! They modulate their noise by wiggling their abdomens toward and away from the tree that they are on. Some species have 17 year life cycles, e.g. the Magicicada, which is widespread in the USA. |
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Actually, their blood, or hemolymph, is more greenish in color than red, but there's no mistaking the patriotic red eyes and blue-black body of the periodical cicadas. The eastern half of the United States is in the midst of a uniquely American natural phenomenon: the synchronous emergence of millions of these noisy creatures from the underground spots where they have lived since hatching on a tree limb, some for nearly two decades. While there are about 1,500 species of cicadas in the world, all largish insects with clear wings that feed on the dilute sap of plant roots and make buzzing sounds by vibrating their abdomens, only seven American species can lay claim to having the longest juvenile developmental period of any insect - depending on the species, from egg to adult in either 13 or 17 years. Because these 13- or 17-year cycles run synchronously in different locations within 10 to 14 days of each other, literally millions of individuals of a given population, or brood, tunnel up and shed their last nymphal skin, after which they must hang from a vertical perch for at least an hour while their exoskeleton hardens. Read more: http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpber133848062jun13,0,5419891.story |