Dog-Day Cicada/Annual Cicada/Dog-Day Harvestfly
The Dog-Day Cicada/Annual Cicada/Dog-Day Harvestfly (Tibicen canicularis) are sometimes mistakenly called locusts. They range from 1-1/8" to 1-1/4" in length with a 3-1/4" wingspan. They are generally black in color with green markings. The front portion of the wings are a clear green but become clear with black veining toward the back good.
These cicadas are found most commonly in the northern United States and southern Canada, east of the Rockies, but they can be found fairly readily in the right habitats in the mid-Atlantic region. They are also common in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia and in areas north along the Appalachian Mountain Range.
Dog-Day Cicadas are found in coniferous and mixed hardwood forests. This insect starts its life in the ground in what is called a nymph stage. Like all arthropods, these insects have to shed their exoskeleton as they grow.
As the adult form merges from the ground and begins its final winged stage in the treetops, its noisy appearance is readily notices. The nymph stage takes 3 years before the cicada reaches the adult, winged stage. The populations are staggered so a new group of individuals emerge every summer - unlike the periodical cicadas. The nymphs feed on root juices and they seem to prefer the roots of pine trees. Adults do not eat. This stage is solely for reproduction just like most species of moths.
These insects have a loud call that can be heard in the mid to late summer. Their sounds can vary between individuals but they generally have a buzzing sound that is associated with the lazy days of summer.
Late in the evening if you have trees with low canopies in your yard, you can often trace the sound back to one of the lower branches and actually find the cicada attached to a lower branch, usually on the underside of the branch.
These cicadas are found most commonly in the northern United States and southern Canada, east of the Rockies, but they can be found fairly readily in the right habitats in the mid-Atlantic region. They are also common in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia and in areas north along the Appalachian Mountain Range.
Dog-Day Cicadas are found in coniferous and mixed hardwood forests. This insect starts its life in the ground in what is called a nymph stage. Like all arthropods, these insects have to shed their exoskeleton as they grow.
As the adult form merges from the ground and begins its final winged stage in the treetops, its noisy appearance is readily notices. The nymph stage takes 3 years before the cicada reaches the adult, winged stage. The populations are staggered so a new group of individuals emerge every summer - unlike the periodical cicadas. The nymphs feed on root juices and they seem to prefer the roots of pine trees. Adults do not eat. This stage is solely for reproduction just like most species of moths.
These insects have a loud call that can be heard in the mid to late summer. Their sounds can vary between individuals but they generally have a buzzing sound that is associated with the lazy days of summer.
Late in the evening if you have trees with low canopies in your yard, you can often trace the sound back to one of the lower branches and actually find the cicada attached to a lower branch, usually on the underside of the branch.