Cicadas

 Here in Virginia we are in the middle of the Brood X periodic cicada emergence. Every 17 years the insects which make this brood up emerge from the ground, try to climb a tree (or fence, or house, or car, or whatever they can find). Upon emergence, they have no wings. Shortly after they exit the soil, their exoskeleton hardens, often while they're grasping a tree or fence. Then the exoskeleton splits open as they molt and the cicada emerges with stubby wings, leaving the exoskeleton behind, often still attached to a tree or fence. The wings grow quickly, the insects darken in color, then they try to fly/climb to the tops of the trees. Then they make an awful racket as they attempt to mate. Then the females cut slits in tree/shrub branches, and the adult cicadas die. Eventually the eggs hatch, the hatched nymphs fall to the ground, they dig into the soil, and they live there for 17 years, when they emerge from the ground and the cycle starts again.

This is the second time I've seen the emergence in Virginia. Just like last time, these insects are everywhere for a few weeks. They're on the sidewalks, in the air, and sometimes they land on me. They are all over my yard, roses, fence, and trees. The bugs are everywhere. The empty shells are everywhere. No bird or rat is going hungry right now. Cicadas emerge in such enormous numbers that it does not matter to the population that many of them die before procreating.

Why am I writing about this? Because I tried my hand at macro photography, using them as the subject. They're slow-moving and easy to find right now. I used a tripod, a 70-200 f2.8 lens, and an extension tube for close focusing. This makes the focal plane extremely thin, which makes it hard to get a sharp shot. So there's the challenge. Here are some results.

On my roses

On my roses

Climbing

Just emerged from the exoskeleton

Bulging red eyes