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help finding cicadas!

JVanLeuven
11 years ago

Hello,
I am graduate student studying the nutritional bacteria associated with cicadas. In an effort to elucidate how these bacteria help the cicadas thrive, I need to collect some cicada nymphs.

These nymphs are attached to the roots of trees/large plants. They are commonly found on palo verde trees after they emerge from underground.

Has anyone seen nymphs while removing trees or landscaping?

I attached a picture of what they may look like.

Thank you,

-james

Comments (7)

  • tomatofreak
    11 years ago

    It's too early for cicadas. Periodicals won't emerge till late April or May; annuals still later. What do you want readers to do if they do find them? And do you want only the nymphs found underground? Must be a very arcane thesis. ;o)

  • Haname
    11 years ago

    I think the idea is that if someone happens to be removing a tree and happens to see the nymphs, James would like to have them. :)

  • tomatofreak
    11 years ago

    "These nymphs are attached to the roots of trees/large plants. They are commonly found on palo verde trees after they emerge from underground." ~~~~~ And so my question.

  • Haname
    11 years ago

    :) Yes, since they are often found near palo verde trees after emergence, a palo verde would be a good candidate for finding nymphs if one happens to be removing/uprooting a palo verde. If you wait until they emerge, they are no longer nymphs, so the idea is to get them when they're still underground.

  • JVanLeuven
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    First, thank you all for your responses. Forums like this are such an amazing source of information.

    We have collected mature cicadas from Arizona. The problem is that once they emerge, they don't live all that long, and may have undergone some serious physiological changes (they are dying).

    We'd really like to get our hands on some nymphs. If somebody has seen them while pulling trees, or digging in the garden, I'd like to know what region they have seen them in and what plant types they were on. If we can get an idea of where to find them, I can come down there to collect.

    Also, I can of course tell you more if you're interested! We want to analyze the RNA in the bacteria that provide the cicadas with amino acids and we want to do this before they stop feeding.

    Thanks again,

    -james

  • JVanLeuven
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    First, thank you all for your responses. Forums like this are such an amazing source of information.

    We have collected mature cicadas from Arizona. The problem is that once they emerge, they don't live all that long, and may have undergone some serious physiological changes (they are dying).

    We'd really like to get our hands on some nymphs. If somebody has seen them while pulling trees, or digging in the garden, I'd like to know what region they have seen them in and what plant types they were on. If we can get an idea of where to find them, I can come down there to collect.

    Also, I can of course tell you more if you're interested! We want to analyze the RNA in the bacteria that provide the cicadas with amino acids and we want to do this before they stop feeding.

    Thanks again,

    -james

  • lazy_gardens
    11 years ago

    If somebody has seen them while pulling trees, or digging in the garden, I'd like to know what region they have seen them in and what plant types they were on. If we can get an idea of where to find them, I can come down there to collect.

    I've seen the birds getting them out of the lawn around my ironwood, but not near the mesquites in drier soil. Out in the wild they tend to hang out in the moister creek bottoms in the willows and sycamores. My conclusion is that they prefer to feed where the soil is damp and soft enough to dig in.

    If I blunder into any, do you want them frozen? In alcohol? Sundried? BBQed?

    ADDING: They emerge from the ground in the early evening and climb into walls, fences and other vertical surfaces ... then the nymph splits and the adult emerges, spends much of the first night fluffing and drying its wings.

    You would find it less effort to get fellow grad students to harvest these in late June and early July than to dig up bushels of dirt hoping to find one. Just go out with a flashlight and check the bases of buildings and fences where there are established trees and shrubs. Knock them off into the collecting jar.

    This post was edited by lazygardens on Sun, Mar 31, 13 at 17:49

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