August 2007 Cicada Killer Lek Survey
08/16/07 - Professor Chuck Holliday Pays a Visit.
As you may or may not know, for the last several years I have been studying a cicada killer lek at a place called "Pine Grove" Cemetery in Westford, MA. Back in 2005, I met 3 fellas that worked for the town's Cemetery Department. That was how I found out about Pine Grove.
Needing to learn more about Cicada Killers, I found Professor Chuck Holliday of Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. Through many back-and-forth emails over several years, I have learned much about cicada killers thanks to Chuck. I have been reporting to Chuck my observations of the cicada killers at this lek and I even sent him some cicada killer-stung cicadas last year.
Since this first lek at Pine Grove, I have managed to find three additional ones around Massachusetts. One of them is thanks to a person from Groton, MA. who found my web site and reported it through the Report Cicadas and Cicada Killers form. I found additional leks in Montague, MA at the Montague Plains Wildlife Management area. This is also the place where I discovered Okanagana rimosa this year. Finally, I discovered a 4th Cicada killer Lek in Swansea MA, just a few weeks ago while I was surveying the area for cicada species.
Over the winter, Chuck told me that he was planning a series of trips around the United States starting out west to try to obtain Cicada Killer females with their stung cicada prey. Chuck wanted to put Massachusetts on his itinerary due to all the information that I have been supplying him at the Pine Grove Cemetery lek.
Below is an account of Chuck's visit over two days starting April 16th and ending on April 17th. I know the time seems short but we got a lot done.
First Stop, Pine Grove Cemetery
Chuck called me when he arrived at the Minuteman Campground on August 15th. We made arrangements then to meet at 6:30 the following morning. We wanted to get an early start.
When we arrived it was very cool and the sprinkler system (which was newly installed) was just turned off so the ground was soaking wet all around the lek. Chuck seemed happy though because we were finding many burrows. As the day wore on and the sun got higher in the sky, things started to heat up and the Cicada Killer males and females were becoming active.
Chuck Comes Bearing Gifts.
Chuck had asked me if prior to his visit if I would collect approximately 40 male specimens from the Pine Grove Cicada Killer lek. I of course said yes. He mentioned something about doing a dry weight survey of the general male population but the reasoning now escapes me. I had the specimens divided up via the different days that I caught them. I didn't know how important it was but I thought it would be prudent. When I handed the specimens to him he was real appreciative.
He also had cicada specimens that he collected from out west and also from around Pennsylvania where he is from. Its always great to get additional cicada specimens. Click the thumbnail below for a larger view of the specimens that I received:
- Top Row Left to Right - Diceroprocta cinctifera, Platypedia putnami, Diceroprocta semicincta
- Bottom Row Left to Right - Tibicen chloromerus, Tibicen duyri, Tibicen linnei
One of the first cicadas that was brought in by a cicada killer was a very rare female T. lyricen var. engelhardti cicada. While this is not a true subspecies, it is believed that there is a supressed gene in these cicadas which causes them to be almost entirely black, contain no green coloring on the thorax with just an "anchor-shaped" light brown patch on the pronotum. Click the thumbnail to the left for a look at this unusual specimen. We spent 6 hours here and met the Town Cemetery Department supervisor who was excellent despite the fact that he didn't know exactly when we were coming. He left the office opened so that we could use the phone and the facilities whenever we wanted.
With only 6 hours work, we netted 20 cicada killer females WITH their stung cicada prey!! Unfortunately, we heard very few cicadas calling and what we did here was only T. canicularis. In fact, the Cicada Killer females brought in 19 T. canicularis cicadas and only that one T. lyricen mentioned above.
Next Stop Groton, MA
Due to the success at the Pine Grove Cemetery, we decided to check out that other Lek reported by a reader of this site that submitted a cicada killer sighting report. It was pretty close by and after I got permission, we headed over there. Unfortunately this area no longer contained any male cicada killers whatsoever. There were still some females maintaining their burrows and out hunting cicadas. It was very hot by now well into the 90's but surprisingly we heard no cicadas calling.
We ended up getting an additional 10 female cicada killers along with their paralyzed prey which again all were T. canicularis.
About two weeks ago when I was at this site, the Cicada Killer females were bringing in both T. lyricen and T. canicularis. It would seem that in the beginning the females bring in T. lyricen (because they emerge first in greater numbers) then towards the end, the Cicada Killers bring in T. canicularis as that is what is available because that species emerges in greater numbers during the mid to late summer months. I will further hypothesize that the cicada killer larva that get the larger T. lyricen cicadas will generally be larger as well.
The End Result.
In addition to catching female cicada killers with their paralyzed cicadas, Chuck also netted some individual cicada killer specimens also for weighing. We ended up with a pretty good haul for this day without much time spent either. Click the thumbnail to the left for a closer look. The cicada killers we caught are the ones with the paralyzed cicada next to it. The top row actually contains male cicada killers (to the left) and some female cicada killers I (right) from Easton Pennsylvania where Chuck teaches.
Chuck was gracious enough to treat me to dinner. We used that time to talk about cicada killers and cicadas and life as a college professor and other general things. We also decided that maybe we should check out the new cicada killer lek that I found in the town of Montague where I finally found the Okanagana rimosa's in June. I was curious to know if the cicada killer females were perhaps bringing in any species of cicadas other than T. lyricen and T. canicularis.
August 17, 2007 - Cicada Killers at Montague WMA
I met Chuck at around 8:30 in the morning and we headed out west. It took about 1.5 hours to get there. When we arrived, the sun was high in the sky and we saw many cicada killer females at work. There must have been around 100 burrows. Some where active and some were not. These burrows were spead out over a wide area so a lot of the day was spent walking to the various burrows. Click the thumbnail to the left for a rare glimpse of Professor Chuck Holliday.
Cicada Killer activity was very light again, not many T. canicularis were calling and certainly no T. lryicens whatsoever. I found one dead female cicada killer that passed away right at the entrance to her burrow. I of course gave it to Chuck.
Cicada Killers Emerge from the Ground Like Cicadas!
Nestled right around an area of CK burrows, there were many emergence holes. At first I thought that they were cicada exit holes but there were no trees over head. Chuck explained to me that these were wasp emergence holes. After the cicada killer larva become full adults they dig themselves out of the ground much in the same way as cicadas. I of course KNEW this but didn't make the connection. Chuck said that the adult wasp actually digs "straight up" from the burrow chamber allowing the dirt to fall straight down into the chamber thus filling it in.
Handling Male Cicada Killers.
So do Cicada Killers sting? The answer is yes, the females do sting but the males don't. The male's job is just to establish little territories, chase all other males out of it and try to mate with the big females. Chuck showed me that males do not sting by reaching into his net for a newly captured male specimen. He said it is a bit un-nerving to actually grasp a wasp when your natural instinct is not to. I definately agreed.
Then it was my turn. So I captured a male specimen and then I said to Chuck (despite the fact that I just witnessed him do it) "Are you sure males don't sting?" he said "Well, I tell you what, if it stings then you just caught yourself a small female." That was very reassuring let me tell you. But I think I pretty much got it down on telling males from female. So I reached in. The male was very angry, buzzing and buzzing. It felt weird on my fingertips almost like they were numb but it was just the male. They have very smooth and slippery abdomens and he actually slipped out of my fingers inside the net so I had to grab him in the middle of the thorax and amazingly no pain!
Wasp Stinging Behavior
Even though the males have a "pseudo-stinger" at the tip of their abdomen, the thing is actually useless. The male still exhibits the stinging behavior though, probably passed down from a time when they could sting and through the evolutionary process has lost it. Click the thumbnail to the left to see this male trying to sting me without any affect. They do however, have mandibles! They can bite but while it only amounts to a slight "pinching" feeling the male cicada killer didn't draw any blood.
Chuck ended up only capturing around 7 female cicada killers with their paralyzed cicada prey. All the cicadas they brought in were Tibicen canicularis, so no new species. Chuck was hoping for some Okanagana but I explained to him that their time is over for the season and that they are a very tiny cicada probably useless to Cicada killers.
And that was it. We got done around 2:00 pm in the afternoon. Chuck was quite satisfied with this trip indicating that usually when he is out it takes him around 3 days to find areas with Cicada Killers and knowing someone who is knowledgeable of the area saves all that time and trouble.
