Cicada Journals August 8 - 14, 2007
08/08/07 - Cicada Videos and Sounds Page Updated.
For those who are interested, the Cicada Videos and Sound Page has been updated to include the calling song of a male Okanagana rimosa that I obtained this year as well as a very loud calling courus of Magicicada cassini from Brood XIII also from this year. In addition, I have added 4 different calling songs all for Magicicada septendecim to include Chorusing, Single, Second and Third Stage calls.
More Cicadas and Cicada Killer Sigtings Posted.
See if your area is listed among those who have contributed to my ongoing distribution mapping project. Let's keep those reports coming in people. Click here. So far this year is turning out to be the best year for Cicada and Cicada Killer Sighting reports.
08/14/07 - Pinning Your Cicadas.
I decided to start a new series of pages for this website describing in detail the methods I use for perserving my cicada specimens after I catch them. In my opinon, it's very important to put a nice collection of cicadas (as well as other insects) together not only for your enjoyment but for the enjoyment of others as well. These pages will describe in detail the following:
- The importance of collecting good and valid data.
- Various methods used for killing specimens.
- The methods I employ for pinning my specimens.
- Optional spreading methods of the cicada's wings.
- Labeling your specimens using free online software.
- Storing your specimens.
These methods that I will describe will probably work for you for preserving other large-type insects like Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths), Coleoptera (Beetles) and Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies). You can see the new link to the left called "Preserving Your Cicadas".
