TRIPPING ON MAGIC CICADAS | Sexy Symphonies & Fun Guys

By -

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Cicadas are found on every continent except Antarctica, and they are found in many deciduous forests. Most species are endemic to a specific region and habitat, spend years developing underground, and emerge in the summer whenever the individuals feel like it. However, the Periodical Cicada individuals of the genus Magicicada emerge synchronously all at once at the same time. In eastern North America, the well-known periodical species take 13 and 17 years to develop, hence the names 13-year and 17-year cicadas. The different regions and schedule combinations where periodical cicadas emerge each year are called broods, and each brood emerges at the same time in its respective brood year cycle. Their main survival strategy is to overwhelm predators so they get sick of eating cicadas and then some cicadas survive to carry on.

Eastern US periodical cicada brood locations/years. Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Cicadas start as eggs laid in tree twigs, and in 6 to 10 weeks the nymphs emerge and start their descent to ~2 feet underground. Cicada nymphs have 5 instars and survive for years by sucking on tree roots as the xylem transport sugars, nutrients, and water up to the canopy. When the moment is right, they dig their way to the surface, climb up a tree, and molt into an adult cicada with wings. Then they get busy if you know what I mean.  They spend just 4 to 6 weeks as adults, mating and laying eggs for the next generation. Males have noise-maker organs called tymbal that make the characteristic cicada noise. The louder you are, the buffer you are, and the faster you can attract a mate instead of being eaten by a predator. This video explains the cicada noise in more detail.

Once mating happens, the females lay ~600 eggs, making slits in twigs and laying ~20 eggs in each slit. This can be not fun for young trees, but mature trees can bounce back. 

Cicadas are perfectly harmless although many people are intimidated by their size and noise. Butt, there seems to be one particular thing that really wants to take advantage of these harmless fellows: the Massospora cicadina fungi. As the nymphs dig their way up to the surface after 13 or 17 years, they sometimes get infected with this fungi. It starts to grow inside their hollow noise-amplifying abdomen. After a week, the abdomen deteriorates and the fungus is exposed and ready to do its dirty work. It has molecules similar to other hallucinogenic fungi. This quote from West Virginia University Today describes the process as follows: 

"The fungus causes cicadas to lose their limbs and eccentric behavior sets in: Males try to mate with everything they encounter, although the fungus has consumed their genitals and butts. Despite the horrid physical state of infected cicadas, they continue to roam around freely as if nothing’s wrong, dousing other cicadas with a dose of their disease."
- West Virginia University Today -

Brian Lovett, Angie Macias, Jason E. Stajich, John Cooley, Jørgen Eilenberg, Henrik H. de Fine Licht, Matt T. Kasson, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Cicada with loose fungus on wings and cicada nymph with abdomen fungus. Copyright 2021, G. Edward Johnson. CC-By Attribution.

Why does it matter? Is the fungus good or bad? It's sad for the cicadas, hilarious for us to learn about, and good for trees that cicadas harm. This is just a fact of life for the cute little innocent cicadas. After 13 or 17 years of living in the dark ground, the fungus just adds a little spice to the life of the cicadas.


References:

https://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2013/02/19/flying-salt-shakers-of-death/

https://wvutoday.wvu.edu/stories/2019/06/25/-flying-salt-shakers-of-death-the-lives-of-fungal-infected-zombie-cicadas-explained-by-wvu-researchers

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/18/997998920/the-fungus-thats-making-cicadas-sex-crazy

https://youtu.be/9Zlq82muQkU

https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-some-cicadas-appear-only-every-17-years

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mimicry: Being Masters of Disguise

By Anonymous -
Image
By: Cassidy Herbster, Cari Marota and Malik Mason  First to explain mimicry, it is copying another insect or inanimate object to aid in avoidance of predators and/or catching prey. There are two types of mimicry: batesian and mullerian. Batesian refers to when only the insect who is mimicking benefits while mullerian is when both the model and mimicking insect benefits. Most common way is with coloring. The colors of the bad tasting, venomous, or vicious insect is copied by a different insect to avoid being eaten by a predator, though the copy cat doesn't actually have that defense, it just appears so.  They also use coloring to blend in to catch prey or avoid being prey.  The insect being mimicked is called the model. Insects will not always only mimic other insects, but creatures such as arachnids or reptiles. Mimicry might not be for the whole lifetime of the insect. For example, the larvae of an insect could mimic a predator but grow up and not use mimicry as su...
Read more

Bear Lake Bog

By Anonymous -
Image
            A picture of a wetland bog from the Northern Hemisphere Source: https://infograph.venngage.com/p/176597/bog-biome               From lakeside dunes to old-growth white pine forests, Michigan is enriched with unique ecosystems. Although many of which have been claimed by society for agricultural and suburban means, portions of conserved land have been reserved for public recreation and admiration of wilderness. Wetland bogs are microcosms that serve as host to many unique organisms. While they used to be much more prevalent in the United States, they are still an important ecosystem in the US. This blog will expound on our class’s excursion to a bog named Bear Lake Bog.             Bear Lake Bog is located about six miles south of Au Sable campus and is found between the East Lakes and Bear Lake. We visited this bog on May 22, 2018. We broug...
Read more

Honey Bees and Colony Collapse Disorder

By -
Image
            Beginning in the winter of 2006 to 2007, beekeepers began to notice a significant decline in losses of their hives, as high as 30 to 90 percent for no apparent reason ( Kaplan, 2012 ). The population of honeybees continues to decline today. The disappearance of these honey bees is now known as the colony collapse disorder (or CCD). This is concerning because honeybees play an important role in the pollination of plants, especially for agriculture but the loss of honeybees doesn’t stop there. The honey that honeybees make has significant medicinal properties. Honey provides antioxidants, relief to colds, and when applied to scrapes or wounds, it aids the healing process with its natural antibacterial and antimicrobial properties ( Shock, 2015 ). It promotes digestion. The loss of honeybees is not only a threat to biodiversity but the health of plants and people. Colony losses of managed ...
Read more