Cicadas are supposed to look like this, complete with no holes and perfect eyes.
However, this past August, I found this poor Cicada (which is not a dog day cicada [Tibicen canicularis] as pictured above, it is perhaps a swamp cicada [Tibicen tibicen], but I'm not positive), whose eyes had been picked out and its thorax had a large, cavernous hole revealing the inside pinkish flesh. What could be more gross than a mortally wounded insect? This guy was still living when I snapped these images, a testament to the survivability of these creatures.
Our yard was loaded with dog day cicadas this year, but I only observed this one swamp cicada. I'm sure Cicada larva feast on the roots of our stately bur oak, and I'm glad that they do. While some may consider them gross, cicadas are great insects to photograph. One, they are big, so you get very nice images even without a dedicated macro lens, and second, they are slow and not apt to fly away once you've captured one. Fore more cicada images, check out Cicada Mania, a site I originally learned about after my first cicada post this summer, to which Cicada Mania linked.
For more animal images, see Misty Dawn's meme Camera Critters.
WOW! I'm impressed with your macro shots!
ReplyDeleteMine is, HERE. Happy Weekend!!
yuck!!!!!!!!!!!! great close ups but they are creeping me out!
ReplyDeleteI could have did without those last shots! Poor thing. Even though their sound can drive me nuts, I hate to see anything suffer.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are a reminder that these little creatures too suffer.
ReplyDeletegreat shots .. but yuck! we had the 17 year cicadas a couple of years ago and they were pretty darn scary with their red eyes
ReplyDeleteGreat shots...though a bit creepy for me :-)
ReplyDeleteThey are so colorful. Almost like kewelry.
ReplyDeleteAmazing images!
ReplyDeleteSad about the little guy though.
I got some photos of a cicada earlier this year, but they weren't nearly as wonderful as these close-ups! I am impressed with this poor creature's stamina!
ReplyDeleteGreat macro shots!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how tenaciously some creatures cling to life
Awesome photos
ReplyDeleteVery nice! Impressive photography. I tie my own flies for fly fishing so I often find these closeups very useful at times!
ReplyDelete~Michele~
Mountain Retreat- Canada
Great cicada photos! I hope you post more in the years to come!
ReplyDeleteExcellent again.
ReplyDeleteSort of gross and bizarre! I'm amazed it was still alive.
ReplyDeleteThat is so gross...
ReplyDeleteGreat post, the icky too. Not participating this week just wanted to have a look see.
ReplyDeleteStill alive??? Cripes! I'll stop complaining about the bursitis in my shoulder now!
ReplyDeleteLovely shots, btw.
Wonderful--if painful--shots. Like Lana, I'm going to stop complaining about my aches and pains!
ReplyDeletea first for me sandy
ReplyDeleteYuk! I like the pictures cicadas, think their coloring and eyes are neat, but don't like to see one with a hole in it! Makes me sad for him!
ReplyDeleteMom
Nice Macro Photography. Keep on Exploring Your Nature.
ReplyDeleteI tried to find some to photograph this summer after reading about them. I could hear them, but wasn't climbing any trees to find them...
ReplyDeleteNew Rambling Woods Site