The life of ... a cicada

Hi everyone,
We're back to talk about another animal.

Cicadas (Cicadoidea) are invertebrates and are 1.9cm to 5.7cm in size. There are 3 000 species that can be divided into annual cicadas and periodical cicadas. Annual cicadas can be seen annually and are found worldwide whereas periodical cicadas only leave the ground every decade or two and are only found in North America with hotspots in the eastern and central areas of the United States. Most annual cicadas have a lifespan of about two to five years and periodical cicadas can live up to the age of 17.

Female cicadas lay around 400 eggs split up over several places. They normally lay their eggs on twigs, branches or other vegetation. The eggs hatch after about six to ten weeks, now known as nymphs, and dig their way into the soil.

The nymphs feed on the liquids found in plant roots. They fully develop underground, before molting their shells and coming to the surface, now fully developed adults. They then mate and lay eggs. Periodical cicada adults die about four to six weeks after leaving the ground.

Periodical cicadas do emerge almost every single year though, because they are split into 15 staggered brood cycles, each one lasting about 13-17 years. A brood emerges once the ground temperature in the top 30cm of soil has reached 18 degrees Celsius, normally in late April and early May. Up to 1.5 million individuals are possible in one single acre. This may sound dangerous, however cicada clouds are not as destructive as locust clouds, because they drink tree sap rather than stripping vegetation. Although younger trees can suffer, the vast majority of mature trees recieve no permanent or serious damage from these plagues.

Cicada clouds are known to be very loud, reaching up to 100 decibels. Clicking and buzzing sounds are species specific and are used as alarm signals and mating calls.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Happy Easter if you're celebrating it!

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Images:

This image, owned by lalo_pangue (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

This image, owned by Eric Parker (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Sources:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/cicadas/

https://www.livescience.com/57814-cicada-facts.html

Comments

Eco system Galápagos: Part 1 Geography

Hello and welcome to the first post about the Galapagos Islands. Currents and Winds The volcanic islands of Galápagos started to form 4 million years ago. Where they lie, is unique. They are situated directly on the equator, on the Nazca tectonic plate. The Galapagos Islands are on the crossroads of three currents. The cold South Equatorial Current flows westward towards Galapagos. The warm Panama Current runs in from the north. And finally, the deep sea Cromwell Current runs from the west. The Galapagos Islands are also where the Northeast Trade Wind meets the Southeast Trade Wind. Galapagos Hotspot 21 Volcanoes make up the Galápagos Islands with 13 still active. The reason for this volcanic activity is a giant hotspot under the island. A hotspot is a gigantic column of super heated molten lava, rising up towards the surface. It is immense; at least sixty miles (97 kilometers) across and 1800 miles (2897 kilometers) deep. It connects the islands to ...

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back ...

The life of ... an alcon blue butterfly

Hi everyone, Today we are going to be looking into the life of an alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon). After mating, the females lay their eggs on marsh gentian, a blue-coloured wildflower. The eggs can only be laid on these flowers, as this is what the newly hatched caterpillars will eat. Although in some alp regions, they can also be found on willow gentians, a close relative of the marsh gentian. Once the caterpillars have hatched from the eggs, their main predator and danger are the ants that swarm below. But high on their plant homes, the caterpillars are safe. However, this isn't where the alcon blue caterpillars are going to stay forever. Eventually, they drop down to the ground using silk strings. With no protection, they are soon dragged off by the ants. The most amazing part is, the alcon blue caterpillars give off the same scent and chemicals as the ant larvae. So the ants take the caterpillars back to their brood chamber, wher...

How much do you know about trees? - Quiz

Hello, This month's quiz is all about trees. Questions: What is the name of the network that trees use to communicate? a) the mycorrhizal network b) the mythcorhinia network c) the symbocommunial network How much of the amazon rainforest has been lost due to deforestation in the last 50 years? a) 12% b) 17% c) 23% True or False? Over 75% of land-based species are found in forests? How much carbon do tropical forest contain? a) 230 gigatons b) 280 gigatons c) 330 gigatons In California, there is a rather strange tree that has survived 13 000 years by cloning itself. What species? a) Pin oak ;b) English oak c) Palmer's oak True or False? The oldest surviving tree species, Gingko trees, have been around since just after the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs struck. Where do acacia trees grow? a) cold and ha...

Energy comparison: nuclear fission

Welcome back to Green World Today we're talking about nuclear fission. This energy source is quite controverial, so we're going to be looking at why. Before we begin, just a quick side note, there are multiple forms of nuclear power. This post is about nuclear fission. Nuclear decay is rarely used, most notably in some space missions. Nuclear fusion is currently being researched by scientists around the world and isn't used for commercial electricity yet. First, let's explain how nuclear fission actually works. This involves a lot of complicated chemistry and physics, but I'll do my best to explain it. Before anything else we need to look at what is in an atom. In this image, the grey represents negatively charged electrons, which circle the nucleus (plural: nuclei) in the center. The nucleus (blue and red) is made up of positively chargerd protons and neutrons (which are neutral). This means that the nucleus is positive. Th...

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

Animals 36-40 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi, As you probably noticed, we took a break from this series, mostly due to having just too much to do. But we're back now with the last three posts. 36. The Pinocchio frog The Pinocchio frog can be found in the Foja Mountains in Indonesia. They mainly eat insects, although little is known about them. They are named because the males have a spike on their noses. They were only discovered in 2008, and this was completely by accident! It remained unnamed scientifically until over ten years later when it was given the name " Litoria pinocchio " . There is very little information about them but Wikipedia states that "the male Pinocchio frog inflates its nose when calling, and the nose decreases in size when the frog is calm and quiet," which I think is hilarious and so interesting! 37. Snub-nosed monkey Especially noticeable due to their curious looks, the snub-nosed monkeys can be found in the forests of central China and northern...

06.09.2020 Animal Of the Week: Seven-spotted Ladybird

Hello Everyone, Welcome to this week's animal of the week post. This time about the ladybird, and personally I can't wait to find out more about these creatures. Enjoy! Which ladybird we are investigating today? Today, I am telling you about the seven-spotted ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), which is the most common ladybird in Europe. Other species include the Two Spot Ladybird and other uncommon ladybirds such as the 16 Spot and other peculiar types. Habitat The seven-spotted ladybird lives in a variety of habitats such as meadows, gardens and hedgerows. They can also be found on farmland, especially with crops such as alfalfa, clover and wheat and corn before it grows too tall. Diet The seven-spotted ladybird feeds on a range of aphid species. This is why they are often referred to as a gardener's best friend as they eat these creatures who can damage plants. They can also eat white flies and anything else that is soft-bo...

The life of ... Atlantic salmon

Hello everyone, Today we're talking about Atlantic salmon. Atlantic salmon are found in the north Atlantic and the rivers that flow into it. They can grow up to a meter long and are classified as Least Concern by the IUCN . Atlantic salmon start their lives in rivers. The pea-sized eggs are laid in autumn and hatch in April or May. The tiny salmon are called alevins. They feed on aquatic invertabrates and eventually devolop into parr. Parr are easily recognised by destinictive patterns and markings on their flanks. After up to several years, the parr develop a silvery sheen. These replace those characteristic parr markings. Their bodies change in preparation for the salt water and they are now called smolts. They swim downstream with the current all the way to the ocean. In the deep sea waters, the smolts feed on crustaceans and small fish for 15-50 months. However they are hunted by a number of predators including, sharks, seals and of ...

June 2021 Factfile - some news from the past month, animals and our first plant of the month!

Hi Everyone! We’re terribly sorry for missing last month’s fact file (May). We have all had a busy few months. This is actually the May fact file coming out very late. The June fact file is cancelled. Because of this, this factfile contains news from both months. We are very sorry for the delay in this post. As announced in our last factfile, this post has a new feature to it; plant of the month. We hope you'll enjoy it! News: Sierra Leone has sold a rainforest for a Chinese Harbour Sierra Leone has sold 250 acres of beach and protected rainforest for £39m to build an industrial fishing harbour. It was home to many animals, including several endangered species. This will also have a disastrous impact on local communities, tourism and as I've already mentioned, the environment. Just click here - It's an article about all the environmental disasters that happened in May. It shocked me. Red Squirrels were born ...

Green World

Search This Blog