Thursday, August 21, 2008

Cicadas

Cicadas are emerging from their years underground and are metamorphosing. We found this one on a tree in the yard this morning. They're singing as I write this.


The first photo shows the wrinkled wings as it first leaves its old exoskeleton.


The second photo, taken about an hour later shows its filled-out wings, with the empty shell of its nymph form left behind.


Michigan has 10 species of cicadas and I think this is one of the common Tibicen species, not the infrequent, but more famous, 17-year cicadas.