''Magicicada tredecim'' is a 13-year species of

periodical cicada The term periodical cicada is commonly used to refer to any of the seven species of the genus ''Magicicada'' of eastern North America, the 13- and 17-year cicadas. They are called periodical because nearly all individuals in a local population a ...

, closely related to the newly discovered 13-year species '' Magicicada neotredecim'', from which it differs in male song pitch, female song pitch preferences, abdomen color, and

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

. Both ''M. tredecim'' and ''M. neotredecim'' are closely related to the 17-year species '' M. septendecim'', which was identified by Linnaeus in 1758; these three species are often grouped together under the name

decim periodical cicadas Decim periodical cicadas is a term used to group three closely related species of periodical cicadas: ''Magicicada septendecim'', '' Magicicada tredecim'', and '' Magicicada neotredecim''. ''M. septendecim'', first described by Carl Linnaeus, has ...

Description

Like other species included in its genus, ''M. tredicim'' has reddish eyes and wing veins. Its dorsal thorax is black. The underside of the abdomen of ''M. tredecim'' is light orange or caramel colored, lacking the dark bands seen in ''M. neotredicim'' and ''M. septendecim''.

Life cycle

Their median life cycle from egg to natural adult death is around thirteen years. However, their life cycle can range from nine years to seventeen years.

Habitat, distribution, and cicada "broods"

''Magicicada'' species occur across the southeastern United States. ''M. tredecim'' was the first to be described of the four species with a 13-year lifecycle. It has been observed in all of the three extant broods of 13-year cicadas:

Brood XIX Brood XIX (also known as The Great Southern Brood) is the largest (most widely distributed) brood of 13-year periodical cicadas, last seen in 2011 across a wide stretch of the southeastern United States. Periodical cicadas (''Magicicada spp.'') ...

Brood XXII Brood XXII (also known as The Baton Rouge Brood) is a brood of 13-year periodical cicadas, last seen in 2014 in a geographic region centered on Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as other locations in southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi. Pe ...

, and

Brood XXIII Brood XXIII (also known as the Mississippi Valley Brood) is a brood of 13-year periodical cicadas that last emerged in 2015 around the Mississippi River in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, and Illino ...

References

External links

Photographs of ''M. tredicim'' at BugGuide.com
Lamotialnini Hemiptera of North America Insects described in 1868 {{Cicadidae-stub