Cicada and Cicada Killers From New England September 2nd 2006

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09/02/06 - Cicadas and Cicada Killers - Lake Charles, LA

i didnt know what what outside but it was huge and then we caught it with its prey and there both still alive the the cicada is paralized, my daughter wants to bring it to school to show her science teacher and my question is how can i keep them alive and when with the cicada become un paralized?

thank you

angie

lake charles,louisiana

Hi Angie

Unfortunately, with the cicada the paralysis is permanent. It will no longer become unparalyzed. It is very much alive though and will probably survive in this state for about 10 days.

As for the female cicada killer, unfortunately, they only live for about a day or so inside a jar. I've never done experiments to keep them alive.

They are however nectar drinkers so you may want to try some corn syrup and a water mixture. Put some in a small bottle cap or something and see if it will take some. Make sure it is like 2 parts water to syrup.

Try that and let me know how you do.

If you can get a digital photo, I can probably identify the cicada for you. For data taking purposes, can you provide the following information as to the location of where you caught the cicada killer and cicada:
1). Town it was caught in
2). County
3). State
4). Street address - nearest street or landmark, park etc.
5). Date caught
6). Time of Day
7). Method used to collect
8). Who collected it
9). Temperature

Thank you.
Gerry Bunker
Massachusetts Cicadas
http://www.mechaworx.com/cicada/masscic1.asp

sure it was today about 1130-1200noon it was about 91 degrees im in lake charles,la my son saw it on the deck ontop of the the locust and swatted it and it was stunned so we scooped them both up and put them in a container and after abut 10-15 min the killer wasps started to buzzing around real good , so good it was moving the container lol

heres some pictures i pickup up the locust and one leg twitched and as for as for the wasp its dying i think its still but the butt end of it is moving like a humping motion like stinging whatever, not sure why its dying so soon

Hi Angie

The species of cicada is a female Tibicen walkeri. With regards to the cicada killer that "humping motion" is just its way of breathing. They are very difficult to keep in captivity.

Mayb it is dying so soon because it is too hot in there. Did you try my suggestion?

Gerry Bunker
Massachusetts Cicadas
http://www.mechaworx.com/cicada/masscic1.asp

09/01/06 - Cicada Killers Spotted - Long Island, NY

I am from Long Island and took these photos of one in my yard last week.

Alicia

Hi There

Yes, that is indeed a cicada killer! Thanks for the information. In order to have complete and accurate data, can you add the following information?

State: New York
Town:
County:
Street:
Date photo was taken

Thanks
Gerry Bunker
Masschusetts Cicadas
http://www.mechaworx.com/cicada/masscic1.asp

Not a problem. I can't believe that neither my parents or grandparents had ever seen one of these before - living on Long Island since the 1940's!

Horseshoe Lane, Commack, NY - Suffolk Countydate spotted (photos taken): Wednesday, August 23 - noon

What happens to all of this info?

Thanks.

Alicia

Hi Alicia

The info gets entered into a database and distribution maps are generated indicating the range of cicada killers. Believe it or not, we lack data from main, New Hampshire and Vermont.

In addition, if one gets industrious cicadas are taken from cicada killers and the types of cicadas that are preyed upon by Cicada killers also gets entered.

Thanks very much Alicia

Gerry Bunker
Massachusetts Cicadas
http://www.mechaworx.com/cicada/masscic1.asp

Now I have my eyes open, but I am not seeing anything else as of yet. The entire experience seemed so surreal! What exactly would I be looking for - what do the burrows look like? We are used to seeing the cicada shells...

Hi Alicia

The burrows look like little mounds of sand roughly the size of a dinner plate in diameter. (Cicada killers like to burrow into sand or very fine soil). The entrances are sometimes hidden but at other times they look like someone took a horse shoe and used the rounded end to carve out a trench that leads right to the entrance.

If you have a well maintained yard then they should be easy to spot. Also look at the edge of sidewalks where they border a lawn. They like these areas as well.

If you haven't seen it yet, on the page below is a thumbnail link under "What Do They Do" that shows a Cicada killer digging a burrow.

http://www.mechaworx.com/cicada/cicadakillerwasps.asp

Gerry Bunker
Massachusetts Cicadas
http://www.mechaworx.com/cicada/masscic1.asp

09/01/06 - Cicada Pain - Dayton, OH

From the bottom of your Cicada deformities page:
http://www.mechaworx.com/Cicada/deformities.asp
"Note the black areas just behind the left eye. This is where is leg should be. What's left is nothing more than a stump and the dark area is clearly drying blood. It makes me wonder if Cicadas can feel pain."

I don't know if they feel pain, but they most assuredly experience alarm/distress.
I shot the following clips on August 24, 2005:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1165081490173670243&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7583332846976807881&hl=en

The following link contains my two cicada related photo albums I've shot. One is from a couple of weeks ago, at night. I suppose they are recent molts, which would explain their odd color. The other album is from the same event as the mantis videos.
http://picasaweb.google.com/khbonnett
I have more, but I'll have to find my Brood X images before I can upload those... they're on a CD-ROM around here somewhere. Those things look like little devil bugs. It's no wonder people think they're dangerous, with those red eyes and orange wings, and the seemingly swarming amount of them.

It's a rare occasion to find someone else who cares about these things and is actually informed on the subject. The majority of Daytonians refer to cicadas as "locusts" (believing they'll eat everything in their path) and seem firmly convinced that they have, or know someone who has, been bitten by a cicada. I go out of my way to TRY and set people straight on the matter.

Thank you for the wonderful work you've done and sharing it on your web page.

--
Kevin H Bonnett

Hi Kevin

Wow, those are amazing videos! Nature totally amazes me. Cicadas are pretty powerful fliers and it is impressive that once the mantis got its clutches on the cicada, that the cicada could not escape.

The alarm squawk is excellent too. It is a reflex mechanism that cicada males employ in the hopes of startling a preditor into dropping it in order to escape. Females unfortunately do not have this capeability.

I read your brief description. Approximately how long did the cicada put up a fight before giving in? I was just wondering if it was squawking while it was being eaten.

The species of cicada is definately a Tibicen linnei which is common in Ohio.

I went to your photo galleries too. The cicada that has finished molting is a female and looks to be Tibicen pruinosa, another species you have there.

I would very much like your permission to publish the praying mantis video on my newly created page of Tibicen cicada calling songs and alarm squawks. As you can see I am missing an alarm squawk for Tibicen linnei.

http://www.mechaworx.com/cicada/cicadavideos.asp

In addition I would also like to put your Cicada picture galleries in the left-hand navigation side bar on every page of my web site under the "Cicada Galleries Links" section.

Really excellent Kevin

Gerry Bunker
Massachusetts Cicadas
http://www.mechaworx.com/cicada/masscic1.asp