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Fouche | all galleries >> Galleries >> Insects and Bugs > A Cicada...
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15-JUL-2007

A Cicada...

...emerges from it's exoskeleton and morphs into an adult.
It takes 13 years for this species of Cicada to emerge from it's subterranean home where it will quickly mate then die.
The female will lay about 600 eggs during her brief life of about a month.
Six to eight weeks later the eggs will mature into nymphs where they will immediately
begin their descent into their 13 to 17-year underground home.
Their incredibly long nymphal stage is unmatched within the animal kingdom and remains a mystery to scientists.
The male Cidada has the loudest mating call of any insect, capable of being heard up to a half-mile away.

Canon EOS 20D
1/100s f/16.0 at 50.0mm iso400 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Charles Lasnier17-Jul-2007 07:53
Nicely framed! That bright green color is something I don't think I've ever seen. I've cretainly seen hundreds of the empty shells.
Kathy 16-Jul-2007 21:33
I'll have to save this to share with my fourth graders when we study insects! Awesome!
Kaathy
Guest 16-Jul-2007 14:31
Great detail!
Lesley Mattuchio16-Jul-2007 11:10
Lucky you to see one and what a fabulous capture of it. These insects are such a vital part of our food chain for our wildlife and also provide wonderful soil enrichment for our plant life as well. Great insect and great photo of it !
Hans VR16-Jul-2007 08:36
Nicely done. I've never seen them so "fresh".
Guest 16-Jul-2007 05:22
Amazing story...amazing that you managed to capture 'the moment'
Jerome Paladino16-Jul-2007 04:55
Nice shot Fouche! Good information also.
noearlybird16-Jul-2007 03:23
Wonderful capture and neat story, this is a mystery!! Kathie