Jonathan Schechter is the Nature Education Writer for Oakland County Government and blogs weekly about nature’s way, trails, and wildlife on the Wilder Side of Oakland County.įor the latest county news and events, visit our website and use #OaklandCounty on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.Cicadas are members of the superfamily Cicadoidea and are physically distinguished by their stout bodies, broad heads, clear-membraned wings, and large compound eyes. According to the University of Michigan, “The males produce a loud, species-specific, mate-attracting song using a specialized organ called tymbals.” The females are lured by the shrill treetop love ballads, and the cycle of life and love in the treetops during the sultry dog days of summer is repeated. It takes just a few hours for the emergence from the exoskeleton and then it’s time to fly to the treetops. Start at eye-level and then look downwards at tree trunks as you hike the trails. Michigan State University Extension reminds nervous homeowners, “Despite their large size and fierce appearance, it is easy to get along with cicada killers.”Įarly risers in Oakland County may witness the transformation of a cicada from an ant-like creature to a flying one. Some cicadas fall prey to predacious insects known as Cicada Killer Wasps, a creature that digs underground burrows and feeds their grub-like larva with cicadas paralyzed by their sting. Sometimes there is no tree to return to, so a car tire, brick wall or other vertical surface will suffice. When their growing period comes to an end, the cicada larvae emerge at night and slowly climb the trunks of a nearby tree. They quickly burrow underground searching for tree roots, where they remain sucking sap for most of their lives. Each cicada lays hundreds of eggs that hatch about six weeks later as ant-like nymphs. These cicadas have striking black bodies, red eyes, and red wing veins.” Equally exciting for little kids, and all nature lovers, are the dog-day cicadas with an annual life cycle that are active Oakland County now.Ĭicadas begin their life as very tiny rice-shaped eggs, deposited on the twigs of tree branches by the adult winged cicada. According to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology, “The genus Magicicada contains the periodical cicadas, known for their 17 or 13 year synchronized life cycles and dense choruses. Periodical cicadas are very long-lived creatures, although most of their life, like all cicadas, is spent underground sucking on root sap. ![]() There are two groups of cicadas: dog-day cicadas also known as annual cicadas and periodical cicadas. The remainder of the images are from Oakland County. As for the accompanying photos, I captured the images of the green-hued emerging cicada clinging to an automobile tire last year in Columbia, South Carolina. There are almost 200 species and subspecies of cicadas in North America I am not about to attempt to decipher the subtle differences in shape, sound and behavior. ![]() ![]() This Wilder Side of Oakland County story comes with a scientific disclaimer since I am not an E ntomologist. An Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deputy sent me a photo of a newly emerged cicada clinging to a brick wall. I’m thankful I didn’t see it because I would have ruined my friends vows,” she said. “It was 95 plus degrees with intense humidity and all I could see out of the corner of my eyes were cicadas…whizzing past. An Oakland County coworker shared her story of guests “dive-bombed” at a wedding in Tennessee. ![]() They may be mostly out of sight, but they are certainly not out of mind. They are enriching the parklands and treed urban streets with shrill buzzing, perhaps best described akin to miniature chain saws that run fast and loud for a few seconds - and then slowly grind to a stop. Cicadas! That’s what the buzz is all about.
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