JUN 30 – Another Caput Fluidum Picture
I had checked the stems, but no nymphs. About one hour later I checked again…and found this. I managed to get a nice photo of the very noticeable watery bump on the top of the head – which I am calling Caput Fluidum.
JUN 29 – Nymph Nibbling vs Drinking
The nymph that emerged on Jun 28 was filmed either eating stem matter or drinking spritzed water.
JUN 28 – Newly Emerged Grooming
This little nymph is less than 2 hours old and is already an expert groomer!
JUN 27 – An Intervention That MAY Have Worked
Since it had been three days since any nymphs emerged, and I really expected them to start spilling out by this point, I decided to scrape the surface of the stems to remove the dried matter over the holes. Even though I quickly dip each stem in warm water twice a day, I worry that the indoor humidity doesn’t keep the plugs moist enough for the nymphs to break through. The first photo shows a stem with the plugs still intact, and the second photo shows a section with the plugs scraped off.
I scraped them on Monday evening, and Tuesday morning there were five nymphs!!! I will be posting different photos and videos the next few days, but here are two of them…..so cute!
It may certainly have been a coincidence, and the scraping may have had nothing to do with so many nymphs emerging 10 hours later…but at least I have more nymphs!
JUN 26 – Missing Eggs
One of the stems I collected was developing white fungus looking specks, and no nymphs had emerged — so I opened it. Although there were about 20 oviposit marks on the stem, no eggs were found. I found what could have been nest or cocoon matter, and a dead beetle with no head. Except for the nest/cocoon, the inside of the stem was completely hollow.
JUN 25 – Found Nymph
Back on Jun 17, I photographed two nymphs emerging next to each other. I was only able to follow up with one of them. I didn’t know what had happened to the second one…thinking perhaps it was consumed by its sibling. Nymphs that get stuck trying to emerge are particularly at risk of being eaten.
Five days later, I did find a well-developed nymph on the bottom of the aquarium. I don’t know for certain if it was the missing nymph, but I do keep a separate tiny vase with vegetation in the aquarium in case I don’t find one that emerged on the old stems. I put this nymph outside on some goldenrod.
JUN 24 – Unsuccessful Emergence 🙁
I found this little nymph mostly emerged from a goldenrod stem. I spritzed it with water, and repositioned the stem to give the nymph (? or is it technically still an embryo) full advantage of gravity.
I didn’t see any movements, so I gently coaxed it out of the stem. It came out remarkably easy. Looking at it under the microscope, it was apparent that some plant pith was stuck to its limbs. Perhaps there was some type of deformity keeping the debris stuck there. I tried for 30 minutes to remove it…but alas, when it wouldn’t budge, I finally forced it off. Unfortunately, the little nymph had rare movements, but its legs were still stuck together. I put it in the freezer to put it out of any misery it might be experiencing.
JUN 23 – Scampering Nymph
From what I have observed over the years, when these tiny nymphs first emerge, they tend to climb as high as they can and then rest there. This nymph was found at 6am today, and was already stationed at the top of the stem. From the size of the caput fluidum, it was truly newly emerged when I found him. Within 30 minutes, most of the fluid had drained from atop its head.
Here it is scampering back up the stem.
JUN 22 – Caput Fluidum
I really thought I would find several nymphs this morning….but happy to find this newly emerged nymph. Note the watery bump on the top of its head….this indicates less 15 minutes since emerging. The fluid disappears within 1 hour – absorbed into the head/body I assume.
Caput fluidum is a term I am proposing for this phenomenon.
JUN 21 – Another Nymph
Almost missed finding this little one. It may have emerged early in the a.m., but I didn’t find it until 1 p.m. – and it is certainly possible he has been there more than one day. It was hiding on some dried crabapple leaves. They are so tiny and difficult to see when they are on dry vegetation…a place they seem to like. This is Oecanthus forbesi – Forbes’ tree cricket.
JUN 20 – Where’s the Nymph
A tree cricket ‘Where’s Waldo’. I have always used Fluker’s Cricket Powder to feed tree crickets I raise.
JUN 19 – Drawings of Instar Stages and Adult by Bentley Ball Fulton
Again, no new nymphs. Arrrggh.
Here is a drawing from B.B. Fulton’s 1915 paper: s576lf15.pdf (orthsoc.org)
You can read the details of each stage on pages 24 & 25.
JUN 18 – No Nymphs Emerged Today
No nymphs emerged today…I expected to find more than one at this point. There are so many eggs in these stems, I’m surprised a whole day went by without a new nymph. In my years of raising tree crickets, I have never found a newly emerged nymph in the afternoon or evening. They all seem to emerge between 5 pm and 8 am.
JUN 17 – More LIVE Nymphs
These nymphs are so darn tiny that I don’t know what happened with the second emerging nymph seen in the photo above.
Here it is just after emerging….note the watery bump on the top of the head – which I propose be called caput fluidum.
There were two other nymphs on this stem, so I quickly moved them to a vegetated aquarium in order to film this emerging nymph.
JUN 16 – FIRST NYMPH
Finally! This morning I found a single Oecanthus forbesi nymph (I’m assuming) had emerged from one of the stems I have indoors. NOTE: This individual might actually be Oecanthus quadripunctatus…time will tell. I’ve added a photo at the end which shows a yellowish color and wide brownish strip – could be either species.
I suspect the open hole is from where it emerged.
It prefers to rest out of sight of the bright light.
Here is a photo I took later in the day which made me wonder if it is actually O. quadripunctatus:
JUN 15 – Still Searching
Although I have not yet found a nymph, I did find a new spot today with six nice sized crabapple trees. They could turn out to eventually have tree crickets, so I’ll keep an eye on them through the summer.
JUN 14 – Still no Live Nymphs
I am continuing to search various types of vegetation – no nymphs found. No nymphs have emerged from my indoor stems.
JUN 13 – Weather Pros and Cons
I did search a few trees this morning. It was a bit windy – which can have a benefit in that it sometimes makes it difficult to tiny nymphs to cling to leaves. They fall to the ground and climb back up the tree, ending up lower in the tree. However, it has been rather cold the last few nights – low 50’s. I’m not sure nymphs would emerge in those conditions.
It has been raining lightly all afternoon, so no searching. Again, the temperature is going down to 55 F, so tomorrow may be another bust as far as finding nymphs. I might have better luck using a net, but the places I am searching are in public places, and I am not comfortable bouncing branches and plants around with people looking on, or in parks.
Here is another nymph picture from the past.
JUN 12 – Today’s Unsuccessful Search 🙁
I spent more than 3 hours searching a variety of plants, shrubs, vines and trees – in 3 different areas. These first photos were taken at a cemetery, where there were six crabapple trees at the entrance. This is one of the most common trees on which I have found Neoxabea bipunctata nymphs in the past. Since it was so windy yesterday, and still quite breezy today, I spent a lot of time searching the small new branches near the trunk…as nymphs tend to hide there because those leaves don’t flap around quite as much.
Finally! …. or so I thought 🙁 I had to reach up to get a leaf that had what I thought was a Neoxabea bipunctata nymph. When I held it closer, it turned out to be just discoloration from a damaged area of the leaf. It’s a nice example, however, of how well a dark brown nymph with its abdomen tipped upward would blend in for protection.
Jun 11 – NYMPHS
Once again I have to resort to posting old photos of nymph. The weather here in SE Wisconsin was horrible today. We went from 80’s down to 50’s, with wind and rain. Not sure how the tree cricket nymphs felt about it, but I chose to stay indoors!
JUN 10 – S T I L L Looking for a Live Nymph
Today I searched six different areas — mostly apple trees and maple trees. At this point I should be seeing Oecanthus niveus (Narrow-winged) and Neoxabea bipunctata (Two-spotted) nymphs. Yesterday I visited a spot where they have been found in past years….nothing.
I also checked goldenrods in the spot where I collected two stems and left three in place…nothing. Nothing has emerged from the stems I collected. Arrrggghhh!
Last night I had a dream – I found a Neoxabea bipunctata nymph in a very unexpected spot (I believe it was a yellowish inanimate object) – and it was a 5th stage instar! I sincerely hope that it is not how this summer is going to progress.
JUN 9 – Still Looking for a Live Nymph
I searched three different spots today…still no luck. Maybe tomorrow ?
Here are a few photos of the species I concentrated on today…Oecanthus niveus (Narrow-winged tree cricket). These photos were taken in Wisconsin on June 3, 2011….so I’m not sure why I’m having trouble finding them now.
Tomorrow: Still searching for a live nymph !
JUN 8 – 2021 Emergence of a Nymph
Searched again today for a live nymph…no luck. Additionally, nothing has emerged from the twigs I collected. So here is a video of a Forbes’ tree cricket nymph emerging in 2021.
Just a reminder, these nymphs are very small – so they may be out, but I didn’t see any in the spots I checked. For comparison, these two pieces of long-grained rice are twice as wide and twice as long as an Oecanthus egg…and the nymphs that emerge are the same length and width – from the tip of their face to the end of their abdomen. The scale is centimeters.
JUN 7 – Past Inventory
Back when I had one acre of land to do what I wanted, I counted the number of stems with tree cricket oviposition marks. The totals don’t exactly match up, a handful or so off, but it gives you a good idea of the number of plants that tree crickets will use to oviposit the next generation.
JUN 6 – STEMS
These stems below have over 300 punctures from female tree crickets in 2022. It is not possible to estimate how many will result in a live nymph. Female tree crickets do oviposit unfertilized eggs – so some, many or most of these may never hatch. In past inventories, I found that 4 out of 10 punctures resulted in an actual nymph the following season.
I wait until the emergence period is very near, and place portions of oviposited stems in small jars with no water. Once a day I quickly dip each stem in warm water – to try to keep it as supple as if it were outdoors and subjected to rain, humidity and dew. I also spritz them with water once a day.
Tomorrow: Past Inventories
JUN 5 – Goldenrod Stem Oviposition Marks
This stem was collected as it was at the very edge of a mowed area bordering a parking lot. A female, most likely Oecanthus forbesi (Forbes’ tree cricket) oviposited into this stem in late summer / early fall in SE Wisconsin, 2022. I counted 289 puncture marks. Some may have been counted twice, but I’m confident there are over 200. Past years of investigating stems in the fall months after tree cricket nymphs would have emerged, I know that not all holes produce a live nymph the following season.
Nymphs should start emerging soon. I will release most of them outdoors, but will also keep a few captive to try to photograph their development.
The stem measured over 38 inches long…and about 30 inches of it had oviposition marks.
Tomorrow: ?
JUN 4 – Comparison of Instar Abdomen Patterns
The abdomen pattern of some species look essentially the same as early and late instars, but others can look quite different.
Below are early and late instars of: Oecanthus californicus (brown form); Oecanthus quadripunctatus; Oecanthus fultoni; Oecanthus exclamationis and Oecanthus forbesi.
JUN 3 – Nymph Abdomen Patterns
The patterns of markings on the abdomens of nymphs do vary, especially between the different species groups, but some species can look similar. To complicate things, the appearance of a 2nd instar can look different – at times drastically – when compared to a 4th or 5th instar.
The poster below shoes the abdomens of: O. forbesi, O. quadripunctatus, O. salvii, O. pini, O. walkeri, O. fultoni, O. alexanderi, O. niveus, O. californicus, O. latipennis and N. bipunctata.
Tomorrow: Instar comparisons
JUN 2 – Nymphs
This is what I am waiting to occur here at Latitude 42.5 N
The last video above is my all time favorite nymph video. The newly emerged Western tree cricket trying out his antennae for the first time.
JUN 1 – Cicadas and Crickets CD
Until I have access to live nymphs, I will post some random tree cricket stuff.
These waveforms are from a CD called Cicadas and Crickets. A variety of sounds were recorded from: Venezuela, France, Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal, Sulawesi, Martinique, Thailand, Borneo, Irian-Jaya, Malaysia, China, Sumatra, and Reunion Island. It can be ordered here: La boutique Jama Sittelle – CD CIGALES ET GRILLONS (FA663)
Below is a chirping species.
Tomorrow: Nymphs
