2 family photos in 1 post !! . . . #commonwatersnake #northernwatersnake #watersnake #canadagoose #canadageese #geese #redshoulderedhawk #easternmuskturtle #muskturtle #stinkpot #easternamberwing #paintedturtle #rileys13yearcicada #cicada
Magicicada trecedim, a thirteen-year cicada, on the Cliatt Creek Trail at Mistletoe State Park this weekend. Though not visible in this photo, the underside of this cicada's abdomen is orange, which is one of the ways to identify the species. The orange patch behind the cicada's big red eyes is also diagnostic. Both Magicicada trecedim and tredecassini are present at Mistletoe State Park, part of the Brood XIX emergence. I still haven't seen a tredecassini, but I could hear them on the trails, especially as I got closer to the creek. Magicicada trecedim makes a whirring sound, which I could hear as a constant the moment I arrived at the park. This is the sound I remember from the Brood X emergence of seventeen-year cicadas in 2021. But as I walked further down the trail, I started to hear more of a buzzing, clicking sound up in the trees, which sounded to me a lot more like the familiar sounds of annual dog-day cicadas we get every summer. I later learned that this was Magicicada tredecassini (also identifiable by a black abdomen, instead of orange.) I love these cicadas with their Halloween colors (mostly black body, orange-edged wings, and red eyes), huge fairy wings, and funny faces. I'm happy I got to experience both species this year, and two cicada seasons since moving to Georgia.
I came across my first Riley‘s 13-year cicada sighting, freshly molted, hanging out near her old skin on a daffodil leaf. She quite happily and trustingly climbed onto my finger for a full photo session before she makes her big musical debut in the coming weeks. As soon as we were done I put her on the trunk of a tree and she knew exactly what to do. I’m sure by the end of the summer I’ll be more than ready to bid adieu to them, but the first sighting is exciting! And no, I don’t actually know if it’s male or female, I’m not that good. Just a little anthropomorphizing for effect. #rileys13yearcicada #magicicadatredecim #13yearcicada #orangecountync
The screaming will begin shortly. #cicada #rileys13yearcicada
Earlier this spring, Blaise found a brood XIX emergence site by flipping concrete slabs at an old foundation. We both took the opportunity to photograph the late-instar cicada nymphs (slide 6) because, I mean, how often do you get to see 13-year cicadas before they emerge? Well, being the cicada afficionado he is, Blaise sent a cryptic text to the group chat last night telling everyone to go shine the nearest big trees. He shortly followed it up with a picture of a cicada molting its fossorial exoskeleton and emerging as the loud, winged beast most people associate with cicadas. Shine as I might, I found no cicadas anywhere around my apartment complex in Raleigh. Blaise sent me a boat ramp where he’d seen the species flying around as winged adults 13 years ago, but I failed to find any emerging cicadas at this site either. Eventually, I found myself revisiting the site where Blaise and I flipped those nymphs only a few weeks prior. I shined the woods for a few minutes before finally seeing one that had emerged, still clinging to its molt, about 30 feet up a tree. When I finally wandered up to the foundation, I began seeing cicadas by the handful. It didn’t take long before I found some attractive fresh emergers within photographing range. I think I saw around two dozen by the end of the night. Riley’s 13-year cicadas (Magicicada tredecim) #magicicadatredecim #magicicada #rileys13yearcicada #13yearcicada #thirteenyearcicada #cicada #broodXIX #cicadaemergence #cicadapocalypse #cicadaparadea #cicadaparada #cicadaparade #nature #wildlife #photography #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #macro #macrophotography #fisheye #fisheyephotography #wideangle #wideanglephotography
Under big slabs and chunks of cement in a freshly-burned (but still thick) loblolly pine grove were several of these cicada nymphs. Hanging out at the top of their burrows and lacking functional wings, I suspect these are in the 5th instar of development, meaning they’re adults that are preparing for emergence. It won’t be long now until our warm days are met with the calls of new broods. This was my first time shooting an insect, and I think it worked out pretty nicely. I think after today I’ll only be posting invertebrates from now on ( #AprilFools #DontUnfollow) Riley’s 13-year cicada (Magicicada tredecim; Brood XIX) #cicada #broodXIX #rileys13yearcicada #13yearcicada #insect #bug #insectphotography #bugphotography #macro #macrophotography #wildlife #nature #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #photography #magicicada #magicicadatredecim