Cicada Journals June 13th 2007 - Brood XIII

June 13th, 2007 - Back From the Mid-West.

Well folks the trip out west went by way too quickly and I apologize for the delays with the updates. I am experiencing great frustration because I couldn't get everything accomplished that I wanted because I only had a total of 2 weeks!!

I had this huge plan on how this summer was going to go. I upgraded all of my equipment so that I could do web site updates quickly, easily and efficiently right in the field.

I got myself a wireless internet connection which can be used through Verizon's Broadband Network, a laptop computer, digital camera and all the software necessary to do these updates. But alas after daily drives of several hundred miles mapping the distribution of Brood XIII on three sides and taking GPS points (another gadget that I bought for my trips this year) I was too damn weary to do anything at the end of each day other than limp back to the camp site at Jubilee College State Park, grab something quick to eat and crawl into bed.

So, as previously stated, I'm back now, so I thought I would just pick up where I left off previously, which is what happened on June 2nd with my adventures with Joe Green from Florida.

June 2nd - Del Mar Woods - Lake County Forest Preserve

From our previous location on Northwood Circle which was off of Waukegan where Joe and I filmed the single male M. septendecim calling and photographed the "Tree of Tenerals" (click the thumbnail to the left), Del Mar Woods is part of the Lake County Forest Preserve which also includes Ryerson Woods and many other forest preserves in Lake County. This seemed like an ideal place as it contained a long paved bike trail with several dirt paths leading off of it.

When Joe and I first arrived here we discovered a cool "chocolate eyed" Magicicada. While it wasn't a white or blue eyed cicada it still was pretty cool compared to the regular red-eyed variety we see everywhere. Check out the full-sized images below by clicking on the thumbnails.

As we walked into the woods I couldn't help noticing that the concentration of M. septendecims and their chorus seemed louder than previously recorded. All these male cicadas of the same species coming together in one area was another ideal opportunity to make a recording. Click the thumbnail to the right to hear thousands of M. septendecims calling at once. They sound like hovering UFO's in a video game. Quite different from M. cassini calls which I will be posting later.

This area ended up having tons of low bushes that kind of reminded me of blueberry bushes and they were covered in M. septendecim cicadas. We even witnessed several mating pairs. I was surprised to see mating pairs so early in June considering that the Magicicadas had only emerged from the ground like 10 days earlier. Click the thumbnails left and right for larger pictures.

M. septendecim Second-Stage Mating Call

Having all these Magicicada septendecims so low to the ground gave an ideal opportunity to watch the behavior of the male cicadas while they were in full chorus. A male would call in one location for no more than three times then fly a short distance, like to another branch in the same bush and call for another three times then fly on to another location.

What was interesting about the whole thing was that there would be females readily available in the same bushes but they (the females) seemed to be totally oblivious to the males for whatever reason.

Sometimes thought, I was able to observe the secondary mating call of the male M. septendecim as they would try to court another cicada. It didn't even matter if the other cicada was another male M. septendecim!

Click the thumbnail below to observe an M. septendecim get to the second stage mating call with another male M. septendecim. He starts out at first stage then briefly goes to second stage when all-of-a-sudden the male he was courting flies off!! See if you can tell when this male gets to second stage.

Ryerson Woods Conservation Area - Dr. Gene Kritsky Lecture

Joe and I spent a good part of the day at the Del Mar woods location. We finally made it back to the hotel around 3:00 pm just long enough for me to have a light nap. At round 4:00 pm my phone rang and it was Roy Troutman calling indicating that he had just checked in. He and I went to dinner along with his brother-in-law Gary. Joe didn't want to go with us because he was busy labeling and studying the specimens he collected today.

Roy Troutman has been interested in Cicadas for many years and has contributed a lot of photographs and very cool videos to not only this web site but to the Cicadamania web site as well. He has also donated photographs and videos to Chicago's Field Museum.

We were all scheduled to attend a lecture at 6:00 pm at the Ryerson Woods Conservation area being chaired by Dr. Gene Kritsky, the world's foremost expert on Periodical Cicadas. The title of the lecture is "Periodical Cicada: The Plague and the Puzzle" and is based on Dr. Kritsky's book of the same name.

Finally! - Putting Faces to Names - Cicada Nerds ASSEMBLE!!!

For a number of years now, I have been interested in cicadas and while being interested in this particular insect, certain names will forever be tied to them. Names that include the following:

Dan Mozgai - Cicadamania.com
Roy Troutman - Independent Researcher
Joe Green - Independent Researcher
Gerry Bunker - Overall Cool Guy and Independent Researcher :)

All these names have several things in common besides being interested in cicadas:

We were all at Dr. Gene Kritsky's lecture at Ryerson Woods and
We are all members of my Cicadidae discussion group through Yahoo! Groups.

So when we were all in the same place at the same time, it was finally great to put some faces to the names of these people whom I have communicated with for many years online. Click the thumbnail below to see a group-shot of the Cicada Nerds.

From left to right: Dan - Cicadamania.com; Roy Troutman; Me (Gerry Bunker) Massachusetts Cicadas; Joe Green.

Gene Kritsky's lecture was very interesting and informative and was over sold. There had to be at least 60 people there. Afterwards after introducing myself to Dr. Kritsky and explaining my interest and research areas as they pertain to cicadas I bought a copy of his book as previously mentioned and asked if I could get a photograph with him. So I will end this latest update with a photograph of me, the Cicada Nerd on the left and Dr. Gene Kritsky.