Cicada Exoskeleton Macro
by Rick Rosenshein
Title
Cicada Exoskeleton Macro
Artist
Rick Rosenshein
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Cicadas begin life as a rice-shaped egg, which the female deposits in a groove she makes in a tree limb, using her ovipositor. The groove provides shelter and exposes the tree fluids, which the young cicadas feed on. These grooves can kill small branches. When the branches die and leaves turn brown, it is called flagging.
Once the egg hatches the cicada begins to feed on the tree fluids. At this point it looks like a termite or small white ant. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig until it finds roots to feed on. Once roots are found the cicada will stay underground from 2 to 17 years depending on the species. Cicadas are active underground, tunneling and feeding.
After the long 2 to 17 years, cicadas emerge from the ground as nymphs. Nymphs climb the nearest available tree, and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. Free of their old skin, their wings will inflate with fluid and their adult skin will harden. Once their new wings and body are ready, they can begin their brief adult life.
Adult cicadas, also called imagoes, spend their time in trees looking for a mate. Males sing, females respond, mating begins, and the cycle of life begins again.
The above information is credited to http://www.cicadamania.com/
Uploaded
September 20th, 2016
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Viewed 296 Times - Last Visitor from Syosset, NY on 04/25/2024 at 11:36 AM
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Comments (11)
Richard Rosenshein
Thank you Liz for your kind comments and for choosing one of my artworks as favorite of yours. It means a lot to me. Rick
Richard Rosenshein
Thank you Keith for your kind comments and for choosing one of my artworks as favorite of yours. It means a lot to me. Rick
Richard Rosenshein
Thank you Paul for choosing one of my artworks as favorites of yours. It means a lot to me. Rick