Decim periodical cicadas

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Magicicada septendecim (Linnaeus, 1758) was the first periodical cicada described. This 17-year species is closely related to two 13-year species (M. tredecim and M. neotredecim); these three species are often described together as "decim periodical cicadas." Snodgrass Magicicada septendecim.jpg
Magicicada septendecim (Linnaeus, 1758) was the first periodical cicada described. This 17-year species is closely related to two 13-year species (M. tredecim and M. neotredecim); these three species are often described together as "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 (Latin for "new 13"), first described in 2000 by Marshall and Cooley in an article in the journal Evolution [1] , 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 [2] .

Contents

Description

Like other species included in Magicicada , decim periodical cicadas have synchronized development with a long larval period underground (13 or 17 years, depending on species), followed by mass emergence, quick development to adult flying forms, and massed singing choruses of males that attract many females. Mating, egg-laying, and the death of all adult cicadas occur within weeks. Eggs hatch into first-instar larvae, which tunnel into the earth to begin their own multi-year subterranean feeding period. [3]

Head of Magicicada septendecim showing red eyes and three ocelli HeadCicadidae.jpg
Head of Magicicada septendecim showing red eyes and three ocelli

All Magicicada species have a black dorsal thorax and orange wing veins. Their large compound eyes, and the three ocelli arranged in a triangle between two eyes, are red. All three decim species show orange coloration on the underside of the abdomen: broad orange stripes in the case of M. septendecim and M. neotredecim, solid orangish or caramel color in the case of M. tredecim. [4]

Magicicada males typically form large aggregations that sing in chorus to attract receptive females. [4] The decim periodical cicadas share a distinctive song said to resemble someone calling "weeeee-whoa" or "Pharaoh". [5] The Encyclopedia of Entomology describes a decim song pattern as "pure tone, musical buzz ending in a drop in pitch". [6]

The calling song of M. tredecim has a slightly lower pitch than those of M. septendecim and M. neotredecim. M. neotredecim was first identified when scientists noticed a bimodal split in the dominant pitch (frequency) of male calling songs during the 1998 emergence of Brood XIX.

The dominant song pitch of M. neotredecim ranges from 1.25 to 1.90 kHz. (This is similar to the pitch-range of M. septendecim, except that songs of the 17-year species do not extend so far into high frequencies.) M. neotredecim song frequencies have been observed to displace upward in areas where their range overlaps with the similar M. tredecim, whose dominant song pitch is lower, ranging between 1.00 and 1.25 kHz. [7]

These distinctive calling songs prompted a closer look at older data concerning M. tredecim. Two forms of mitochondrial DNA, correlated with a difference in abdominal color, had already been seen in insects assigned to this species. David Marshall and John Cooley determined that these known differences correlated with the observed pitch difference in males and a corresponding pitch preference in females. The name M. neotredecim was given to the variant whose song, abdominal coloring (orange with a black lateral band or center), and mitochondrial DNA resemble the 17-year species M. septendecim. The earlier name M. tredecim was reserved for the group whose abdomen is mostly orange, whose song has a lower pitch, and whose mitochondrial DNA differs slightly from the two other species of decim cicadas. [1] The mitochondrial DNA difference observed suggests that the M. tredecim lineage separated from the other decim line about one million years ago. [8]

Habitat

The decim cicadas live in the United States east of the Great Plains. They are typically found in upland woods and forest-prairie ecotones, favoring deciduous trees and shrubs both for chorus locations and for laying their eggs. Nymphs can survive feeding on the roots of many kinds of plants, including conifers and deciduous trees. [6]


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, Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world; many species remain undescribed.

Pehr Kalm Finnish scientist and priest (1716-1779)

Pehr Kalm, also known as Peter Kalm, was a Finnish explorer, botanist, naturalist, and agricultural economist. He was one of the most important apostles of Carl Linnaeus.

Brood X Brood of periodical cicadas that appear regularly 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. It has the greatest range and concentration of any of the 17-year cicadas.

Periodical cicadas Genus of true bugs

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.

<i>Magicicada cassinii</i> 17-year periodic cicada

Magicicada cassinii, 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 cassinii was in honour of John Cassin, an American ornithologist.

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

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>Massospora cicadina</i>

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.

<i>Aleeta curvicosta</i> Species of insect

Aleeta curvicosta is a species of cicada, one of Australia's most familiar insects. Native to the continent's eastern coastline, it was described in 1834 by Ernst Friedrich Germar. The floury baker is the only described species in the genus Aleeta.

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.

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.

Cassini periodical cicadas Periodical cicadas

The Cassini periodical cicadas are a pair of closely related species of periodical cicadas: Magicicada cassinii, having a 17-year lifecycle, and Magicicada tredecassini, a nearly identical species with a 13-year lifecycle.

<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.

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 XI was a brood of periodical cicadas that appeared regularly in the eastern United States. It was one of the smallest 17-year broods, consisting exclusively of the species Magicicada septendecim, and was historically restricted to areas of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island which appeared to be at the northern limit of the species' range. Brood XI has not been seen since its 1954 emergence and is now generally regarded as extinct.

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.

Evidence for speciation by reinforcement

Reinforcement is a process within speciation where natural selection increases the reproductive isolation between two populations of species by reducing the production of hybrids. Evidence for speciation by reinforcement has been gathered since the 1990s, and along with data from comparative studies and laboratory experiments, has overcome many of the objections to the theory. Differences in behavior or biology that inhibit formation of hybrid zygotes are termed prezygotic isolation. Reinforcement can be shown to be occurring by measuring the strength of prezygotic isolation in a sympatric population in comparison to an allopatric population of the same species. Comparative studies of this allow for determining large-scale patterns in nature across various taxa. Mating patterns in hybrid zones can also be used to detect reinforcement. Reproductive character displacement is seen as a result of reinforcement, so many of the cases in nature express this pattern in sympatry. Reinforcement's prevalence is unknown, but the patterns of reproductive character displacement are found across numerous taxa, and is considered to be a common occurrence in nature. Studies of reinforcement in nature often prove difficult, as alternative explanations for the detected patterns can be asserted. Nevertheless, empirical evidence exists for reinforcement occurring across various taxa and its role in precipitating speciation is conclusive.

Allochronic speciation Speciation arising from change in breeding time

Allochronic speciation is a form of speciation arising from reproductive isolation that occurs due to a change in breeding time that reduces or eliminates gene flow between two populations of a species. The term allochrony is used to describe the general ecological phenomenon of the differences in phenology that arise between two or more species—speciation caused by allochrony is effectively allochronic speciation.

Massospora is a genus of fungi within the order Entomophthorales of the Zygomycota. It includes more than a dozen obligate, sexually transmissible pathogenic species that infect adult gregarious cicadas (Hemiptera) worldwide. At least two species are known to produce psychoactive compounds during infection.

References

  1. 1 2 Marshall, David C.; John R. Cooley (2000). "Reproductive character displacement and speciation in periodical cicadas, and a new 13- year species, Magicicada neotredecim" (PDF). Evolution . 54 (4): 1313–1325. doi: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2000.tb00564.x . JSTOR   2640627. PMID   11005298.
  2. ↑ Simon, Chris; J. Tang; S. Dalwadi; G. Staley; J. Deniega; T. Unnasch (August 2000). "Genetic evidence for assortative mating between 13-year cicadas and sympatric "17-year cicadas with 13-year life cycles" provides support for allochronic speciation" (PDF). Evolution. 54 (4): 1326–1336. doi: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2000.tb00565.x . PMID   11005299 . Retrieved 12 May 2021.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  3. ↑ "Magicicada Brood XIX is emerging now". University of Connecticut . Retrieved 15 June 2011.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  4. 1 2 "Periodical Cicada Page". University of Michigan . Retrieved 10 June 2011.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  5. ↑ Stranahan, Nancy. "Nature Notes from the Eastern Forest". Arc of Appalachia. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  6. 1 2 Capinera, John L. (2008). Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer. p. 2792. ISBN   978-1-4020-6242-1.
  7. ↑ "Digital song recording for holotype male of Magicicada neotredecim Marshall and Cooley". Connecticut Entomological Society . Retrieved 11 June 2011.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  8. ↑ Cooley, John R.; Chris Simon; David C. Marshall (February 2003). "Temporal Separation and Speciation in Periodical Cicadas" (PDF). BioScience. 53 (2): 151–157. doi: 10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0151:tsasip]2.0.co;2 . Retrieved 18 June 2011.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
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