Four #cicada brooches, Eastern Germanic, c. 380-500 CE
silver, copper alloy, iron
Morgan Library display
“#Cicadas symbolized immortality in the ancient world, perhaps because of their seemingly miraculous regeneration after long periods of dormancy. Cicada brooches were worn by women living along the Danube and on the northern shores of the Black Sea. The Goths converted to Christianity in the period after AD 350, and these brooches may have had connotations of spiritual renewal and rebirth.”
The broods are awakening, swarming, screaming, and eventually leaving their exoskeletons everywhere. My patrons suggested a neon cicada, and I was happy to jump into a fun, bright palette. This design uses standard DMC and nothing extra or fancy!
Find this bright critter in my Patreon until June 15th.
The black spots on the Magicicada's cephalothorax are a key to knowing when the cicada is ready to molt. Right now people in the Brood XIII area are finding nymphs with red eyes, but no spots. In Brood XIX most likely has black spots.
some cicadas have symbiotic gut fungus (yes, fungi, not bacteria) that make amino acides for them. These fungi are related to the infamous "zombie" cordyceps fungi.
some cicadas in N. America have gone extinct in recent times, some without having their songs recorded
Last week I finished the small cicada drawing and this week I’m running the prints I will ship to patrons this month! There’s still time to join at the $2/month tier if you’d like one. You can learn more here:
We’ve survived the first week of 2024! Now what’s going to define the year ahead? CICADMANIA of course! Who’s excited for 17 yr and 13 yr periodical cicadas to emerge simultaneously for the first time in 221 y? #cicada#entomology#bugs
Periodical cicadas are large insects that spend most of their lives below ground but emerge en masse to mate.
I saw this on our walk a few days ago. It is the shell of a recently emerged cicada. I don't know the exact species; it seems that there are several species of cicada. Perhaps there is an insect enthusiast among us who can shed further light on the species.
A cicada at the botanical garden needed a little help and affection to recover, and it rewarded us by hanging out with us for ~15 minutes. Later, a green anole was surprisingly bold to just pose for pictures. There was also a water snake by the waterfall in the Japanese Garden, but I failed to get a good picture.