The Cicadas are Coming – a Tale in Four Parts

Note: All links leave to external sites. Greetings BugFans, The insect world is gearing up to stage an event that is the entomological equivalent of the recent total solar eclipse. The buzz (if you’ll pardon the term) began a few months …

Closed for June – Brood X

Howdy, BugFans, A few years ago, the BugLady wrote an article about entomophagy – the fine art of cooking and eating insects. In the past, the emergence of a big brood of cicadas has signaled recipe contests, and so, as …

Dogday Cicada (Family Cicadidae)

There are about 170 species of Cicadas, family Cicadidae, in North America north of Mexico. Wisconsin has nine species — Periodical cicadas like the famous 17-year locust, genus Magicicada; and Annual/Dogday Cicadas, mostly in the genus Neotibicen (formerly called Tibicen).

Cicadas (Family Cicadidae)

Heard far more often than they are seen, Cicadas are commonly (and erroneously) referred to as “locusts,” named after the noisy but completely unrelated grasshopper group. Each species has a characteristic call which is produced by internal structures called tymbals. Most males emerge during a relatively compressed period of time and vocalize to attract females