Cicadas: Books and Articles

In the spring of 2013 the cicadas in the Northeastern United States will yet again emerge from their seventeen-year cycle--the longest gestation period of any animal. Those who experience this great sonic invasion compare their sense of wonder to the arrival of a comet or a solar eclipse. This unending rhythmic cycle is just one unique example of how the pulse and noise of insects has taught humans the meaning of rhythm, from the whirr of a cricket's wings to this unfathomable and exact seventeen-year beat.

Cicadas are large, loud insects that spend their nymphal stages underground until they crawl out, climb a tree trunk, and emerge as winged insects. The adult insects emerge on a 1-year (annual) and 13- or 17-year (periodical) cadence. Yearly emergences are consistent and plentiful in certain places East to West and become a dependable "hatch." Species from carp and smallmouth bass on eastern rivers to trout on fabled waters such as Utah's Green River or Pennsylvania's Spring Creek grow fat on this annual feast. But the feeding frenzy kicks into high in most years when a brood of periodical cicadas emerge in their predictable range. These insects have been underground for 13 or 17 years (identified by different brood names) and emerge en masse in mind-boggling numbers. This is the first book dedicated to the patterns, techniques, and, most important, the science of locating the best hatches of these insects.

This established, popular textbook provides a stimulating and comprehensive introduction to the insects, the animals that represent over half of the planet's biological diversity. In this new fourth edition, the authors introduce the key features of insect structure, function, behavior, ecology and classification, placed within the latest ideas on insect evolution.

Comprehensive yet compact, authoritative yet easy to understand, this is the perfect guide for anyone who wants to know more about the fascinating and diverse insects of North America.   Many insects are difficult even for the experts to identify, but here readers will find a wealth of information on the amazing observable behaviors of insects and their fascinating life histories. Naturalists Kenn Kaufman and Eric R. Eaton use a broad ecological approach rather than overly technical terms, making the book accessible and easy to use.

The biological world under our toes is often unexplored and unappreciated, yet it teems with life. In one square meter of earth, there lives trillions of bacteria, millions of nematodes, hundreds of thousands of mites, thousands of insects and worms, and hundreds of snails and slugs. But because of their location and size, many of these creatures are as unfamiliar and bizarre to us as anything found at the bottom of the ocean. This book ultimately explores the crucial role of soil ecosystems in conserving the worlds above and below ground.

Insects that are the least bit social may gather in modest groups, like the dozen or so sawfly larvae feeding on a pine needle, or they may form huge masses, like a swarm of migratory locusts in Africa or a cloud of mayflies at the edge of a midwestern lake or river. Why these insects get together and what they get out of their associations are questions finely and fully considered in this learned and entertaining look at the group behaviour and social lives of a wide array of bugs.