AN EXCITING FIND/CONFIRMATION

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A SMALL MAGICICADA COLONY THOUGHT TO BE LONG EXTINCT:

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LOCATION: Sandusky County

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1st:  Today, I confirmed a suspicion of mine which started 17 years ago. Back in 1999, I discovered small woodlands along East County Road 62/113 in Sandusky County.  This woodland is just north of the Seneca County line where I located a small colony of individual Magicicada cassinii singing. This woodland is positioned between State Route 269 and County Road 29/308. At the time, the area was posted as "no trespassing" and I failed to confirm whether or not the insects had emerged there and if their numbers were large enough to survive predation and sustain their existence.

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On this date, I was happy to find the same woods still intact and again, I heard a small colony of M. cassinii singing. Upon closer inspection, I found an exuvia clinging to a utility pole (Pole # 5218C4-15) next to a few individuals perched and singing in the nearby trees. This confirmed that 17 year cicadas still exist in Sandusky County which is another county NOT traditionally listed in the Brood V maps/areas. They may be only found in the extreme south-east corner of Sandusky County, but nonetheless, they are there.

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This also verifies and reaffirms records from OHIO Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 311 printed in 1917, where it reported a small colony in this same area a century ago.  The colony had luckily survived into our modern day. My finding has been reported to other institutions in hopes to further update the accuracy of the existing Brood V maps.  

 

I should further note that I assisted in the mapping of Seneca County 17 years ago which too was excluded in most (all) of the Brood V mapping charts back then.  Many of those colonies in Seneca County were also listed in the same Ohio bulletin whose map was printed on page 568.

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Also on this date, I hear a solitary male M. cassinii in Green Creek Township near the entrance to the Mid-City Mobile Home Park located on County Road 212.  Due to the location, I dismiss the sound thinking I made an error.

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FRIDAY, JUNE 3rd:  At approximately 1600 hours, I hear the calls of about 3 male M. cassinii inside the Mid-City Mobile Home Park near the north-west corner of the property.  There is an old tree line located to the west of the property and the calls are heard randomly.  I further inspect this old tree line which has several large oak trees.  I locate 8 exuviae on some leaves, garden plants, and tall grasses.

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At the time of this writing, I am unable to locate any historical documentation of Brood V existing in these parts.  However, Brood X was listed in the Fremont area over a century ago which this portion of Green Creek Township is listed under a Fremont mailing address.   Like the small colony on County Road 62, is this a relic population of a once larger colony or stragglers from another Brood waiting to emerge?  It may be many more years before again I am able to verify this and also leads to another question... Will their small numbers be enough to sustain a continuous thriving population?

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SUNDAY, JUNE 5th:  A single teneral male M. cassinii is found in the western tree line near an oak tree with deformed wings. This gave me visual confirmation there is a small isolated relict population in the Mid-City Trailer Park.