Cicada Found in the Grass

I found a recently dead cicada in the grass beside the garden. I picked it up to exam more closely. It is an annual cicada - not one of the red eyed 13 or 17 year periodical ones. It got a little dirt from my grubby glove but is otherwise is good condition - a worthy object for photography.

There is a surprising amount of color. Behind the head is a black and orange pattern. The eyes are green and there is a lot of green in the head and on the upper parts of the legs.

The joint of the wing with the body is rimmed with green.

The wings have sturdy veins but are otherwise clear. They had collected some moisture from the grass.

Now that I’ve finished photographing it - back outside it goes. It will be a little jewel in one of the flower pots on the deck.

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 1, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Have You Ever Heard Virginia Woolf Speak? - A few minutes from a radio broadcast made in 1937.

Two Volcanoes Erupting in Alaska: Scientists Are Monitoring and Providing Alerts On Pavlof and Cleveland Volcanoes - Broader than just about the two eruptions….explains the way the USGS monitors volcanoes overall

Technique to Detect Breast Cancer in Urine Developed - Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this really works and can replace routine mammograms?

Image gallery: frost - From the Weather and Climate page of the Royal Meteorological Society. Use the frame on the left to look at other image galleries. There is also an interesting animation of Hurricane Katrina under ‘Resources’

Cicada Swarmageddon! - Our area of Maryland is on the edge of Brood II of the 17-year cicada which is due to make an appearance this year. We haven’t seen or heard any yet but I enjoyed learning about the less visible parts of the insect’s lifecycle in this video.

Picnicking Through the Ages - We are more likely to use an ice chest and canvas tote rather than a basket….find a picnic table in a park rather than spread a blanket. We still enjoy eating outdoors as we travel. Recently it appears that parks are encouraging people to take home their own trash rather than providing trash cans...a return to pre-park etiquette of picnicking.

First Drug to Significantly Improve Heart Failure Mortality in Over a Decade - Coenzyme Q10….a supplement that is a drug. And other drugs for heart failure depleting the Coenzyme Q10 that the body makes on its own….maybe a feedback loop that, over time, actually made those drugs less helpful to the individual with heart failure.

Resources for Scenario Planning and Futures Thinking - From Richard Watson…pointers to two recent papers. The summary graphics are thought provoking. I spent more time on the second paper - the Cyber Game Board.

Skin Health for all - Confronting the Silent tragedy of Skin Disease - Video of a lecture given at Royal Society of Chemistry earlier this year.

Little White and the Three Toxins - A new species of mushroom…a new toxin?