Cassini periodical cicadas

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Magicicada cassini female during oviposition. Magicicada cassini female ovipositing - journal.pone.0000892.g005.png
Magicicada cassini female during oviposition.

The Cassini periodical cicadas are a pair of closely related species of periodical cicadas: Magicicada cassini (Fisher, 1852), having a 17-year life cycle, and Magicicada tredecassini [lower-alpha 1] (Alexander and Moore, 1962), a nearly identical species with a 13-year life cycle.

Contents

Courting behavior of Cassini cicadas is unusual because large groups of males may sing and fly together in synchrony. Bursts of sound alternate with silence as thousands of males sing in unison, then leave perches and seek a new perch before the next ensemble song.

Description

All Magicicada species have a black dorsal thorax with red eyes and orange wing veins. [4] Cassini periodical cicadas are smaller than decim periodical cicadas. The abdomen is black except for occasional faint orange-yellow marks on the ventral surface seen in some location.

In a typical brood of periodical cicadas, decim and decula types will be present as well as cassini. The three different types have unique species song-types; they also tend to sing at different times of day, with cassini choruses most likely in mid- to late afternoon, later than decim or decula varieties. [5] The cassini-type song consists of a series of ticks followed by a buzz; it has also been described as sounding like "someone trying to get a lawnmower started." [5]

Magicicada males seek out sunlit vegetation, where they typically gather with conspecific males to form large choruses, alternating singing behavior with short flights. Cassini-type males are unusual in synchronizing these behaviors, so that thousands of males sing their mating song in unison and then fly together. [6] according to Alexander and Moore (1958): [7]

Almost every singing male in a woods containing tens of thousands of singers achieves synchrony with all the others, and the result gives the impression of a gigantic game of musical chairs. A treeful of these insects singing in synchrony is motionless when observed during the great burst of sound caused by insects buzzing together, and then becomes a frenzy of activity between buzzes with nearly every individual changing perches.

The "congregational" singing of males (so-called because it inspires both males and females to congregate) requires this synchrony in cassini-types for its success. [7]

Habitat

Periodical cicadas live in eastern United States east of the Great Plains. Cassini-type cicadas are especially common in the most southwestern populations and are the only 17-year cicada species found in Oklahoma and Texas. [6]

Cassini-type cicadas are most often found in deciduous lowland woods and flood plains, rather than the upland woods favored by other Magicicada. [6]

Ecological impact

Egg-laying by a large brood may cause many twigs to die off but does little long-term harm to mature trees. [8]

Notes

  1. ↑ The original spelling for Fisher's 17-year periodical cicada species is cassinii, [1] with two 'i's, though a large majority of publications have spelled the name cassini since the mid-1960s. The spelling cassini is an incorrect subsequent spelling under Article 33.4 of the rules of nomenclature. [2] Assuming that the spelling "cassini" is in prevailing usage, then this spelling is to be preserved, though the issue has not been formally resolved as of 2022. The correct spelling for the 13-year relative is tredecassini. [3]

Related Research Articles

Cicada Superfamily of insects

The cicadas are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two families, the Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and the Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world; many species remain undescribed.

Brood X Brood of periodical cicadas that appear every 17 years throughout the eastern United States

Brood X, the Great Eastern Brood, is one of 15 broods of periodical cicadas that appear regularly throughout the eastern United States. The brood's first major emergence after 2021 is predicted to occur during 2038.

Periodical cicadas Genus of true bugs native to North America

Magicicada is the genus of the 13-year and 17-year periodical cicadas of eastern North America, consisting of seven species. Although they are sometimes called "locusts", this is a misnomer, as cicadas belong to the taxonomic order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha, while locusts are grasshoppers belonging to the order Orthoptera. Magicicada belongs to the cicada tribe Lamotialnini, a group of genera with representatives in Australia, Africa, and Asia, as well as the Americas.

Brood XIII

Brood XIII is one of 15 separate broods of periodical cicadas that appear regularly throughout the midwestern United States. Every 17 years, Brood XIII tunnels en masse to the surface of the ground, mates, lays eggs, and then dies off in several weeks.

Brood XIX

Brood XIX is the largest brood of 13-year periodical cicadas, last seen in 2011 across a wide stretch of the southeastern United States. Periodical cicadas are often referred to as "17-year locusts" because most of the known distinct broods have a 17-year life cycle. Brood XIX is one of only three surviving broods with a 13-year cycle. It is also notable because it includes four different 13-year species, one of which was discovered in Brood XIX in 1998 by scientists listening to cicada songs.

Magicicada cassinii 17-year periodic cicada

Magicicada cassini, sometimes called the 17-year cicada, Cassin's periodical cicada or the dwarf periodical cicada, is a species of periodical cicada. It is endemic to North America. It has a 17-year lifecycle but is otherwise indistinguishable from the 13-year periodical cicada Magicicada tredecassini. The two species are usually discussed together as "cassini periodical cicadas" or "cassini-type periodical cicadas." Unlike other periodical cicadas, cassini-type males may synchronize their courting behavior so that tens of thousands of males sing and fly in unison. The species was first described by Margaretta Morris. However, the specific name cassini was in honour of John Cassin, an American ornithologist.

<i>Magicicada septendecim</i> Species of periodical cicada

Magicicada septendecim, sometimes called the Pharaoh cicada or the 17-year locust, is native to Canada and the United States and is the largest and most northern species of periodical cicada with a 17-year lifecycle.

<i>Magicicada septendecula</i> Species of true bug

Magicicada septendecula is a species of insect in family Cicadidae. It is endemic to the United States.

Predator satiation Anti-predator adaption

Predator satiation is an anti-predator adaptation in which prey briefly occur at high population densities, reducing the probability of an individual organism being eaten. When predators are flooded with potential prey, they can consume only a certain amount, so by occurring at high densities prey benefit from a safety in numbers effect. This strategy has evolved in a diverse range of prey, including notably many species of plants, insects, and fish. Predator satiation can be considered a type of refuge from predators.

<i>Massospora cicadina</i> Species of fungus that infects periodical cicadas

Massospora cicadina is a fungal pathogen that infects only 13 and 17 year periodical cicadas. Infection results in a "plug" of spores that replaces the end of the cicada's abdomen while it is still alive, leading to infertility, disease transmission, and eventual death of the cicada.

Brood XIV is one of 15 separate broods of periodical cicadas that appear regularly throughout the midwestern and northeastern United States. Every 17 years, the cicadas of Brood XIV tunnel en masse to the surface of the ground, mate, lay eggs, and then die off in several weeks.

Magicicada neotredecim is the most recently discovered species of periodical cicada. Like all Magicicada species, M. neotredecim has reddish eyes and wing veins and a black dorsal thorax. It has a 13-year life cycle but seems to be most closely related to the 17-year species Magicicada septendecim. Both species are distinguished by broad orange stripes on the abdomen and a unique high-pitched song said to resemble someone calling "weeeee-whoa" or "Pharaoh." They differ only in life cycle length.

<i>Magicicada tredecim</i> Species of true bug

Magicicada tredecim is a 13-year species of periodical cicada, closely related to the newly discovered 13-year species Magicicada neotredecim, from which it differs in male song pitch, female song pitch preferences, abdomen color, and mitochondrial DNA. Both M. tredecim and M. neotredecim are closely related to the 17-year species M. septendecim, which was identified by Linnaeus in 1758; these three species are often grouped together under the name decim periodical cicadas.

Decim periodical cicadas

Decim periodical cicadas is a term used to group three closely related species of periodical cicadas: Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada tredecim, and Magicicada neotredecim. M. septendecim, first described by Carl Linnaeus, has a 17-year life cycle; the name septendecim is Latin for 17. M. tredecim, first described in 1868, has a similar call and appearance but a 13-year life cycle; tredecim is Latin for 13. M. neotredecim, first described in 2000 by Marshall and Cooley in an article in the journal Evolution, is a 13-year species but otherwise much more similar to M. septendecim than to M. tredecim as shown by studies of DNA and abdominal color variation by Chris Simon and colleagues in a companion article in the same journal issue.

David Rothenberg is a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, with a special interest in animal sounds as music. He is also a composer and jazz musician whose books and recordings reflect a longtime interest in understanding other species such as singing insects by making music with them.

<i>Magicicada tredecassini</i> Species of true bug

Magicicada tredecassini is a species of periodical cicada endemic to the United States. It has a 13-year lifecycle but is otherwise indistinguishable from the 17-year periodical cicada Magicicada cassini. The two species are usually discussed together as "cassini periodical cicadas" or "cassini-type periodical cicadas." Unlike other periodical cicadas, cassini-type males may synchronize their courting behavior so that tens of thousands of males sing and fly in unison.

Magicicada tredecula is a species of periodical cicada in the family Cicadidae. It is endemic to the United States. As its specific epithet implies, they emerge as adults once every thirteen years.

Brood XXII is a brood of 13-year periodical cicadas, last seen in 2014 in a geographic region centered on Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as other locations in southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi. Periodical cicadas are often referred to as "17-year locusts" because most of the known distinct broods have a 17-year life cycle. Brood XXII is one of only three surviving broods with a 13-year cycle. The next emergence of The Baton Rouge Brood is expected in 2027.

Brood V

Brood V is one of twelve extant broods of periodical cicadas that emerge as adults once every 17 years in North America. They are expected to appear in the eastern half of Ohio, the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, the upper two-thirds of West Virginia less the Eastern Panhandle, far western Maryland, and some places in Virginia abutting West Virginia. Also included in Brood V is a population that emerges in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. They last emerged in 2016, and their next appearance will be in 2033.

Brood IX, is one of 15 broods of periodical cicadas that appear regularly throughout the United States in 13 or 17-year intervals. Seventeen-year Brood IX is concentrated in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

References

  1. ↑ Fisher, J.C. (1852). "On a new species of Cicada". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 5: 272–275.
  2. ↑ ICZN (1999). International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 4th Edition Archived 2009-05-24 at the Wayback Machine . International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, Natural History Museum, London.
  3. ↑ Alexander, R.D., and T. E. Moore. (1962). The evolutionary relationships of 17-year and 13-year cicadas, and three new species (Homoptera, Cicadidae, Magicicada). Miscellaneous Publications of the Museum of Zoology of the University of Michigan 121: 1–59.
  4. ↑ "Periodical Cicada Page". University of Connecticut . Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  5. 1 2 Carter, Janet L. Stein. "Periodical Cicadas". University of Cincinnati. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Capinera, John L. (2008). Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer. p. 2792. ISBN   1-4020-6242-7.
  7. 1 2 Alexander, Richard D.; Thomas E. Moore (1958). "Studies on the acoustical behavior of seventeen-year cicada" (PDF). Ohio Journal of Science. 32 (2): 107–127. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Cook, William M.; Robert D. Holt (2002). "Periodical Cicada (Magicicada cassini) Oviposition Damage: Visually Impressive yet Dynamically Irrelevant" (PDF). American Midland Naturalist. 147: 214–224. doi:10.1674/0003-0031(2002)147[0214:PCMCOD]2.0.CO;2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
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