07-22-07. Molting Cicada.
In all my years of finding cicada shells, I’ve never actually witnessed a cicada nymph in the process of molting. I’ve seen fairly fresh adults still drying their wings next to their old skin, but I’ve never seen them come out of their skin. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve even seen a nymph cicada at all. And I’ve spent a fair amount of time bug watching (even before the photography bug bit me.)
Ellen called this morning and said there were a bunch of cicadas around her house coming out of their shells. She asked if I would be interested in a photo project. Of course I was. She brought over a few shells, a nymph, and an adult who was still drying its wings. Apparently one of the nymphs escaped from the container and is now hiding out in her truck. Anyway, I set up my mini studio in the basement while I worked on finishing the sheetrock. I really wanted to catch the nymph in various stages of molting, but I didn’t even know how long it would take.
Shortly after setting up my camera, the nymph started to come out of its shell. I took a few pictures of the whole process, which took about an hour and a half. The whole series can be seen here: http://www.milesboyer.com/gallery/3193946
Thanks Ellen for the interesting photo subject. Hope you found the runaway nymph in your truck.
In all my years of finding cicada shells, I’ve never actually witnessed a cicada nymph in the process of molting. I’ve seen fairly fresh adults still drying their wings next to their old skin, but I’ve never seen them come out of their skin. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve even seen a nymph cicada at all. And I’ve spent a fair amount of time bug watching (even before the photography bug bit me.)
Ellen called this morning and said there were a bunch of cicadas around her house coming out of their shells. She asked if I would be interested in a photo project. Of course I was. She brought over a few shells, a nymph, and an adult who was still drying its wings. Apparently one of the nymphs escaped from the container and is now hiding out in her truck. Anyway, I set up my mini studio in the basement while I worked on finishing the sheetrock. I really wanted to catch the nymph in various stages of molting, but I didn’t even know how long it would take.
Shortly after setting up my camera, the nymph started to come out of its shell. I took a few pictures of the whole process, which took about an hour and a half. The whole series can be seen here: http://www.milesboyer.com/gallery/3193946
Thanks Ellen for the interesting photo subject. Hope you found the runaway nymph in your truck.
07-22-07. Molting Cicada.
In all my years of finding cicada shells, I’ve never actually witnessed a cicada nymph in the process of molting. I’ve seen fairly fresh adults still drying their wings next to their old skin, but I’ve never seen them come out of their skin. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve even seen a nymph cicada at all. And I’ve spent a fair amount of time bug watching (even before the photography bug bit me.)
Ellen called this morning and said there were a bunch of cicadas around her house coming out of their shells. She asked if I would be interested in a photo project. Of course I was. She brought over a few shells, a nymph, and an adult who was still drying its wings. Apparently one of the nymphs escaped from the container and is now hiding out in her truck. Anyway, I set up my mini studio in the basement while I worked on finishing the sheetrock. I really wanted to catch the nymph in various stages of molting, but I didn’t even know how long it would take.
Shortly after setting up my camera, the nymph started to come out of its shell. I took a few pictures of the whole process, which took about an hour and a half. The whole series can be seen here: http://www.milesboyer.com/gallery/3193946
Thanks Ellen for the interesting photo subject. Hope you found the runaway nymph in your truck.
In all my years of finding cicada shells, I’ve never actually witnessed a cicada nymph in the process of molting. I’ve seen fairly fresh adults still drying their wings next to their old skin, but I’ve never seen them come out of their skin. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve even seen a nymph cicada at all. And I’ve spent a fair amount of time bug watching (even before the photography bug bit me.)
Ellen called this morning and said there were a bunch of cicadas around her house coming out of their shells. She asked if I would be interested in a photo project. Of course I was. She brought over a few shells, a nymph, and an adult who was still drying its wings. Apparently one of the nymphs escaped from the container and is now hiding out in her truck. Anyway, I set up my mini studio in the basement while I worked on finishing the sheetrock. I really wanted to catch the nymph in various stages of molting, but I didn’t even know how long it would take.
Shortly after setting up my camera, the nymph started to come out of its shell. I took a few pictures of the whole process, which took about an hour and a half. The whole series can be seen here: http://www.milesboyer.com/gallery/3193946
Thanks Ellen for the interesting photo subject. Hope you found the runaway nymph in your truck.
See photo in gallery
