Creature Feature: 3301
The sound that comes from this month’s Creature Feature is arguably one of if not the surest signs that summer is here. We have all likely heard it on a hot summer day, a loud buzzing noise that comes from the trees and fields. Potentially bothersome if one is seeking silence. I am, of course, talking about the cicada. A fascinating summer insect in a number of ways.
Cicadas are a part of an order of life known as Hemiptera, otherwise known as the “true bugs”. Many people often use the word “bug” as an all-encompassing term for any insect, but there actually is a criterion for an insect to be considered a true bug. For instance, a true bug must have two pairs of wings, a non-retractable, needle-like proboscis (mouthpiece), and go through an incomplete metamorphosis, where a nymph (an immature insect) simply looks like a smaller version of itself as an adult. If an insect has all of these qualities, then it is likely to be considered a true bug, and the cicada is one of them!
Cicadas spend their time as nymphs underground. While some species stay there for just a few years, others, such as some found in North America, take about 15 years, give or take. Once this amount of time has passed, the soil temperature will need to reach the mid-60’s in fahrenheit in order to emerge and begin their adult stage. Some species of cicada, particularly those found in North America are said to be periodical. This means that all of the nymphs develop roughly the same time as all the others, emerging as adults together from their underground nymphal stage. A real-life scenario of this would have been a few years ago in the eastern United States, right before the summer of 2021. The cicadas that emerged were called Brood X, causing a huge increase in cicada noise and populations at the time. Brood X will return, but not until about 2038.
Adult cicada resting on tree.
Both as a nymph and as an adult, their diet mostly consists of tree sap. Since sap is their primary diet, they shouldn’t be viewed as a pest that destroys farmers' crops. That being said, it may seem a bit overwhelming during some years to see and hear all of these bugs at once. Luckily, there are a plethora of potential predators that may feed on cicadas, ranging from birds, mammals, arachnids, and other insects. These predators prompt cicadas to find ways to avoid predation. Camouflage is a big one, using the same color palette as the trees that they are dwelling in to hide from a potential predator.
Now that we have covered the basics on cicadas, I suppose only one question remains: what is with the title of this article, “3301” ? Well, I will just leave it as a mystery.
No, seriously, it's a mystery. You can look it up on Google.
Click here to learn more about cicadas.
Submitted by Zach Mork, naturalist, June 2023