semi, originally uploaded by murakami.kenta.

I don’t know what species this is, but the photo was take in Japan.

Semi means cicada in Japanese.

A cicada vs. Cicada Killer Wasp, typically isn’t much of a battle — the cicada typically loses.

My friend David Wilson made a display out of an old clock featuring a cicada and Cicada Killer Wasp locked in battle (or the wasp going grocery shopping for its larvae, depending on how you want to look at it).

Check it out, I think it’s very cool.

David said:

The thing is a diorama I made of an unnoticed moment in history. With New Brunswick [New Jersey], as seen from Highland Park circa 1900, in the back round.

Ray Edel interviewed me about New Jersey summer cicadas for the Record newspaper (North Jersey). Read the interview.

And here’s a new cicada illustration I’m working on:

Eventually I’ll put in on a mug. :)

DSC11506 - Boy with live cicadas (Laos), originally uploaded by loupiote (Old Skool).

Cicadas live on every continent, except for Antarctica. This lucky kid in Laos has a handful of cicadas.

Here’s a video of a Cicada Killer wasp captured by my friend David Wilson in Lambertville, NJ. You can hear the cicadas in the background, so you know the wasp is quite frustrated.

Now is the time for big, meaty Tibicen cicadas, and nothing loves Tibicens more than Cicada Killer Wasps. Cicada Killer Wasps are large wasps that use living cicada bodies to nourish their wasp larvae.

People fear these wasps, but they’re not interested in people — only cicadas. They’ll only attack people if people attack them. So keep your distance, but don’t bother to kill them. Respect them, but don’t wreck them.

Prof. Chuck Holiday has the best information about these wasps.

Joe Green sent us this photo of a Cicada Killer Wasp clutching a cicada. See if you can spot the cicada under the wasp.

Matt Berger was backpacking around Yellowstone national park recently when his chanced upon this Okanagana bella:

More info about the Okanagana bella.

Lately we’ve received quite a few emails asking for audio samples of cicadas and katydids so folks can A) tell them apart, and B) tell what species they are. There’s plenty of sites on the web that feature cicada sounds; look for links tagged AUDIO on my cicada links page. Two particularly good sites for sound files Massachusetts Cicadas and Cicada Central.

In my search for good cicada and katydid sounds, many people recommended the book The Songs of Insects by Lang Elliott and Wil Hershberger. I ordered it immediately, and it arrived today. I am truly amazed by this book (and audio CD). The book profiles 75 North American singing insects including cicadas, katydids, crickets, and grasshoppers. Each profile features two excellent color photos of each insect, a map of where you can find them, a description, and the audio CD includes the insects song. The book is over 225 pages long, and a high quality paperback. If you or your kids are interested in signing insects, there’s no better book to buy. All my nieces and nephews are getting this book for Christmas.

The authors of the book have a webpage featuring the songs of the insects featured in the book. Note that the book is lacking in species found in the western U.S. — if you live east of the Rockies this book is awesome.

Listing for bugs is a fun thing to due in these hot summer months — buy this book before the summer ends.

5 out of 5 Marvins.

Cicada Tibicen pronotalis, originally uploaded by CletusLee.

Another cool photo from Flickr. There’s more pictures and information about this species on The Bug Guide.

Cicada Tibicen Superba, originally uploaded by CletusLee.

Suberb Tibicen superba photos.