Dog-day Cicada - Neotibicen canicularis
To celebrate a (hopefully) wonderful Valentine's Day, today the blog features several magnificent specimens enjoying their summer days. I'm particularly found of the individual in Picture 10 cooling off; droplets just slide right off the shell and it has such a lovely eye. Furthermore, I'm delighted to also share a mating pair caught on the sidewalk; both of them have accomplished their imago (adult) mission after so many (1-3) years of molting and developing underground! It's fairly simple to guess which is the male and which is the female. I was happy for them, but one thing that puzzles me is: why are these Cicadas forming a pair on the sidewalk where they are completely exposed to the elements, insectivores and stomping feet? Wouldn't it be better for these big green Bugs to mate in the treetops where it's safe and where all the males congregate? Perhaps so, but maybe not. The responsive clicks of a female may be heard by many singing males at once. Furthermore, the female won't oviposit her eggs immediately after fertilization. She needs a bit of time and would do better to fly to a different and less crowded tree.
As well, an opportunity to mate in the insect world doesn't come about very often, especially if you live for around a month of so. Since that's the case, if the female Dog-Day Cicada favors a particular male because of his steady, shrill song and chooses them, then there's no time like the present. This is further compounded as male Cicadas invest a lot of energy into singing, which puts a strain on their adult lifespan and the attention they can receive from predators. However, male Cicadas are up to the challenge if it means they pass on their genes. They'll need to give their all, but also hone their song. It's not just about having the loudest song or the longest sustained song; in some species of Cicada, females will listen very carefully and favor males who have the fastest tymbal vibrations, and thusly having higher-pitched songs. For more information here on tymbal vibrations and what a Cicada's song is actually composed of in terms of sound, you can revisit this Insect Song post (Part 2).
Happy Valentine's Day!
Solo Cicada Pictures were were taken on July 5 and August 18, 2021, and the mating pair pictures were taken on August 26, 2021 with a Google Pixel 4.
