The Cicadas On Martha's Vineyard A Study - Summer 2006 - Page 2
August 12th, 2006 - Two T. lyricens Captured Today! - Continued From Previous Page.
I decided to walk to the top of Peaked Hills to get to the highest point on Martha's Vineyard, a whole 311 feet above sea level. There were some really nice views once I was up here. I could see the ocean way in the background with a down slope all the way to the coast. Very nice. I surely do recommend this view! If you're ever on Martha's Vineyard you should go directly to this spot. Just remember, Peaked Hills Wildlife Reservation.
At the very top of the hill, the scrub oaks seemed to be the shortest and it looked to me that you could walk around a bunch of them because the undergrowth wasn't that bad. After several attempts to sweep net a male T. lyricen, I finally managed to bag one in the oddest fashion.
I have already noted last year that male T. lyricens like to walk around a branch they are currently on, all the while calling and calling for a mate. I positioned my net directly over the T. lyricen while he was calling and he absently crawled onto the mesh of my net (he was about 12 feet up at the time). I gently lowered the net to my level while he was calling all-the-while totally oblivious to what was happening. I should've taken advantage of the situation and got a recording for the record but I was too stunned to believe that this T. lyricen didn't know what was going on so I just grabbed him! Hence, that is how I captured T. lyricen specimen number 2 for the day. Click the thumbnail to the right above to listen to this specimen's alarm squawk. By the time I got my camera out he was pretty much calmed down. Still a nice shot of some wing flutter though.
Here are some nice images of this specimen below. This is the standard coloring for your basic T. lyricen.
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Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6
- Pic 1 - Dorsal view. Standard coloration on T. lyricen.
- Pic 2 - Lateral view.
- Pic 3 - Head shot closeup ventral view.
- Pic 4 - Head shot dorsal view.
- Pic 5 - Closeup of head dorsal view.
- Pic 6 - Side-by-side comparision of both specimens. Look at the differences. The pronotum on the green specimen on the left has more "bulbous" protrusions at the sides and is narrower than the specimen on the right. Also compare the compound eye stalks. The one on the left is "thicker" than the one on the right with the one on the right having some pubescence. Maybe the one on the left is a sub-species?
Below is a side-by-side comparison of both specimens on the dorsal view. Note the signficant differences between the two. Click the image below.
Well, that basically did it for the highlights of today. I went to other areas but as you can guess I did not have much success. I did manage to hike on private property as well as public areas. I tried to net several T. auletes but was unsuccessful. It was unfortunate too because this area was ideal. Many short scrub oak trees but the fact that the road I was on was a private road made me nervous for being there.
Tomorrow will be my last full day to try for T. auletes. If I don't get one then than my exuvia and recording evidence will be the only proof I have. I'd sure like to get a live specimen!
August 13th, 2006. The Big Day.
This is it, my full last day. I'm really feeling the pressure. It was great to discover that T. auletes is definately here. I've heard its call on various parts of the island. It even called a few times at my camp site. But up to this point, I have been unsuccessful in capturing one.
I spent the day hiking at various Wildlife Conservation areas owned by the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank but have been unsuccessful in hearing the call of T. auletes. By this time it is getting later and later in the day so I decide to head to the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest. I decided to focus on a section of the State Forest off of Barnes Road.
When I first started hiking I heard the call of T. auletes in a large pine tree but it was inaccessable due to all the undergrowth and soon it stopped calling. I heard another call in a scrub oak along a fire road during my hike but again it was inaccessable from my location.
Success At Last!!
After several hours of hiking I decided to call it a day. My ferry ride to the mainland was tomorrow evening at 8:30 pm. At least after I pack up camp, I had a few hours to try one more time.
So, I went to my car to pack away my gear when I heard a T. auletes calling from across the street. I immediately headed there, net in hand. Then I heard another, then another. I decided to focus only on one of these calls. There was one calling across a meadow lined with scrub oaks and pine. When I made it there, I could hear it calling from about 12 feet up, then I spotted it!
I slowly brought my net up and just like how I caught the previous T. lyricen, I placed my net over the T. auletes in order to coax it onto the mesh of my net. When I moved the net slowly away from the branch, I saw that the T. auletes was no longer on the tree branch but was in the net!
Apparently it was completely unaware of what was going on. I slowly lowered the net down all the way to the ground, effectively covering the specimen in the mesh net and the ground. Reaching inside I grabbed the specimen!
The alarm squawk of this specimen is the loudest squawk I have heard to date from any cicada. It is just a continuous screech that is ear-piercing. Click the thumnail to the left to download. Be warned, it is 44 seconds long. If you have a dial-up connection this will take some time to download.
I cannot convey to you the satisfaction and joy I felt at this accomplishment. At last! I finally got what I came for. Full circle. Not only did that paper prove to be true but I had recordings and a live specimen as proof! I cannot describe how if feels to start a mission and actually accomplish it. While I've never done this before, click the thumbnail to the right to see a picture of me with my prize. Note the scrub-oak in the background.
Below are some photos of this specimen. Enjoy.
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Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6
- Pic 1 - Dorsal view.
- Pic 2 - Head closeup dorsal view.
- Pic 3 - Ventral view.
- Pic 4 - Head shot ventral view.
- Pic 5 - Abdomen and timbals
- Pic 6 - Closeup ventral view of abdomen.
T. auletes A Real Attention-Grabber.
So, I made it back to the campground with my specimen. Previously, I discussed with my campsite neighbors about what I was doing there on Martha's Vineyard. Of how I was there doing research on the distribution of cicada species in New England and how I found evidence of T. auletes being here etc.
My neighbors to the left consisted of several mothers and their children and a set of grand-parents. I got to know the grand-parents pretty well and had many nightly discussions with them. Every day when I made it back to camp, they inquired as to how my day went and if I had any success. Up until this point I had nothing to report and I'm sure they took note of the disappointment on my face.
However, when I reported that I had success on this day and I showed them the T. auletes, they were truly amazed. I even took the specimen out of the jar so they could listen to the alarm squawk. Well, this had my neighbors on both sides curious. The grandchildren came running over wondering what all the noise was. When they saw the T. auletes specimen, I had an enraptured audience for several hours that night. I told them everything I knew about cicadas. About their life cycle, their behavior, what they ate, why the males sing in trees, the whole thing.
Even the owner of the campground who also knew what I was up to came over but kind of shrugged off the specimen stating "Yeah, I see those here all the time."
But in the end everyone was happy at my success so who could argue with that?
August 14th, 2006 - Time To Pack Up and Head Out.
Today while packing up, it seemed really busy in the morning for T. auletes at the camp ground. I heard several males calling on several occassions. Unfortunately by the time I was done packing up and out of there, they seemed to be quiet for the better part of the day.
I went back to the same area where I caught my specimen yesterday but I did not catch another one. They were reluctant to call.
Two More Cicada Killers Spotted!
In the state forest along a fire road I did come across several cicada killer burrows. Since I had some time to kill, I decided to wait around to see if a female would bring in a cicada. So I put a jar over an entrance to a burrow but instead of having a cicada killer bring me a cicada, she was down in her burrow so that when she flew out she flew right into the jar. I decided to keep this specimen for Professor Chuck Holiday who is doing research on this species.
By the time late afternoon came, the temperature dropped significantly. There were no cicadas calling now. So I decided to end my trip here. If I would've caught another T. auletes it would've just been gravy anyway. I made my way back to Oak Bluffs where I caught the ferry.
This concludes the account of my trip to Martha's Vineyard. I hope you enjoyed the photos and my account of what I did. I would suggest to all who have read this to try to make it over one summer. It truly is a very nice place to vacation though a bit on the expensive side.
