Right on Schedule...
This variety of Cicada (Magicicada) has a 17-year life cycle and is part of brood IV, or the Kansan Brood. The last time they emerged in Nebraska was 1998. They started to emerge from the ground about a week ago as they were delayed by the rainy weather. So happy that we were able to find them in Weeping Water, Nebraska yesterday afternoon.
People call these cicadas “locusts” but they are not true locusts — real locusts look like grasshoppers. The phrase “17 year cicada” indicates that they arrive every 17 years. The name “periodical cicadas” indicates that they arrive periodically and not each and every year. The scientific name for the Genus of these cicadas is Magicicada, and there are 3 types of 17 year Magicicadas: Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini and Magicicada septendecula. This is a true locust:
There are literally billions of 17- year cicadas. Why? One theory suggests that the large number of cicadas overwhelms predators, so predators are never able to eat them all and many always survive to mate. This is a survival strategy called “predator satiation”.
Some of you may enjoy the following website: www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/brood-iv-the-kansan-brood-wil...
Right on Schedule...
This variety of Cicada (Magicicada) has a 17-year life cycle and is part of brood IV, or the Kansan Brood. The last time they emerged in Nebraska was 1998. They started to emerge from the ground about a week ago as they were delayed by the rainy weather. So happy that we were able to find them in Weeping Water, Nebraska yesterday afternoon.
People call these cicadas “locusts” but they are not true locusts — real locusts look like grasshoppers. The phrase “17 year cicada” indicates that they arrive every 17 years. The name “periodical cicadas” indicates that they arrive periodically and not each and every year. The scientific name for the Genus of these cicadas is Magicicada, and there are 3 types of 17 year Magicicadas: Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini and Magicicada septendecula. This is a true locust:
There are literally billions of 17- year cicadas. Why? One theory suggests that the large number of cicadas overwhelms predators, so predators are never able to eat them all and many always survive to mate. This is a survival strategy called “predator satiation”.
Some of you may enjoy the following website: www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/brood-iv-the-kansan-brood-wil...