Friday Blogging of Invertebrates: The Gold Bug
Today's featured critter is a very iridescent "dog-day" cicada (Tibicen pruinosa) that I photographed this morning. These cicada's are also known as annual cicadas because while their maturation cycle is 2 to 5 years, the broods are staggered such that some emerge every year. The "periodical" cicada (Magicicada spp.) is the nearly black, red-eyed cicada that emerged in huge numbers over much of the Washington D.C. area last year. They usually emerge every 13- 17 years in specific locations, and can do far more damage to trees and vegetation than their relatively harmless cousins.
This Brooklyn cicada had quite a bit of bling bling in its exoskeleton. As you can see, the abdomen was almost completely metallic.
Hark, hark, it's the Friday Ark!.
WE FOUND A GOLD EYED CiCADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: jenny | Friday, 22 June 2007 at 08:50 PM
Shoot! I need to keep up on my blog reading, because I just posted about this species and would've linked to your fine photo. These are the buggers with the pulsating, throbbing song. Distinctive all around!
Posted by: Nuthatch | Friday, 23 September 2005 at 03:58 PM
My first though is that poor blighter flew in the path of some tagger, but gold and silver are not favored colors in that milieu. I think it was just the typical metallic look you get on some insects due to the way the layers of chitin reflect light.
As for why it was on the sidewalk, that's easy. They've been dropping like flies (jarflies that is) for the past few weeks. I expect they'll all be dead by the first week of September.
In the meantime, they're partying on. I'm working outside and the cicada noise is pretty substantial. I don't remember it being this loud last year.
Posted by: dope | Friday, 26 August 2005 at 11:46 AM
Whaaaaa? Did you spray paint that bug?
Posted by: hellbent | Thursday, 25 August 2005 at 12:56 PM