cicadas invade
princeton university
They're Here! Witness the daily changes as nature herself is in awe of
these marvelous creatures.
From what I see and hear you will find cicadas galore down Prospect Street
and at 171 Broadmead. The upper old campus (Nassau Hall etc) is slowly being
inundated, and they are running rampant down near New South and the dorms
near the dinky.
Monday- May 17, 2004- they're just starting to make their way from the
ground to the trees to shed their skins
Tuesday- May 18, 2004- More emergence as well as full fledged adults
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Guest Photographer: Pete Everett |
Wednesday- May 19, 2004- Where are all the cicadas you ask?
Some are biking it..... |
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Some are waiting for a bus or hanging out an a cannon...... |
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Some are congregating on tasty leaves..... |
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Some are laying around dead.....ok, a lot are laying around
dead.... |
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And some are anxiously waiting in the
tents for Reunion Weekend to start |
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And some are just enjoying being here at Princeton |
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Guest Photographer Kevin Perry |
Thursday- May 20, 2004- Not much new to report today. The rain from yesterday
seems to have slowed down activity. If you are near campus and are dying
to see a bunch of adult cicadas but don't know where to look, find the McCormick
Hall underpass on the west side of the building- it has hundreds of adults
lounging about. Please submit
pictures and mass sightings to be included on this site!
Friday- May 21, 2004- Finally I'm beginning to feel a little squirmy about cicadas- I've been fascinated so far, but today the tree next to Whig was full of cicadas- not so much on the tree itself- but crawling all over the ground near it- I didn't realize it until I got closer to the tree to take pictures and felt the crunching at my feet....ick! The overpass on the west side of McCormick is still a great place to see the first few stages. If only I could climb trees to see if females have started laying their eggs!! If anyone out there gets pictures of the egg laying stage please send them my way!
Even the littlest nature lovers are excited to see Brood X! |
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This is the base of the tree near Whig |
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Believe it or not- these guys are alive - but not for long if they stay
on this door stoop!!! |
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Okay- I know this one is blurry- but it's the only one I have of an
adult with his wings open.... |
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The nice thing about these bugs is that they seem so oblivious to
humans.
Their gradual emergence has made their invasion more of a
phenomenon to appreciate rather than an invasion of pests to fear. |
Monday- May 24, 2004- I think last week was just the beginning- the next wave has emerged and is taking over. The noise you hear when you arrive on campus makes you think you forgot to turn off your car.
Wednesday- May 26, 2004- Sorry I haven't updated the site this week -I've
been sick! Fortunately my neighbor, Lee Atwater, shared his pictures from
May 26 with me (and he is a better photographer than I am! - Thanks Lee!
Tuesday June 8, 2004
The cicadas are still here- they aren't crawling out of the ground
anymore- they are whooping it up with their loud noise and they fly
around quite a bit now - in fact they've made a ninny out of me a
few times as I try to snap a picture and I run away screaming as they
fly at me!
I did manage to record sound as I put my camera on video mode. The
video is horrendous- not really showing anything- but turn up your
volume and you'll hear the noise that we have to deal with- it gets
very loud on hot sunny days. Click
here to view the video.
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I tried to get some pictures of them flying. |
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There are a lot just waiting to get their picture taken |
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This one landed outside my office window and croaked
out a tune! |
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More mating (Get a room!!) |
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Here are some that either just landed or were getting
ready to take off- I ended up screaming and running away from this
photo shoot. |
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Friday- June 11, 2004 - They are still here making a racket- though
today is an overcast chilly day- they like the warm sunny days batter.
If you still haven't seen them you probably don't have much time
before they disappear - so come on over to Princeton!!
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Here's one sent to me by Mark Aanonsen- Thanks Mark! |
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Want to find cicadas at Princeton? Just follow the noise! |
Planning a visit? Here is a map!.
Thanks to Cicada Mania for
linking to this site!
Would anyone out there be interested in a 2005 Calendar
with Cicada Pictures? Please email
me if you are interested. They will cost $20. The pictures will
come from the pictures I used to make this website- I make very nice
picture calendars for Christmas - top notch quality- certainly better
than what you get from Staples! If you don't want a Cicada calendar
but might be interested in my customized personalized picture calendars
watch this spot for a link to my calendar site (not up yet!).
Monday- June 28, 2004
THEY ARE GONE! Last week I was still seeing
one or two a day, could still hear their hum a little, saw dead cicada
carcases - today I saw no sign that they had ever even been here. So
long cicadas- see you in 17 years!!! |
All photos by Julie Angarone except where otherwise specificed.
Send your photos to be included on this site to
angarone@princeton.edu.