So ... even though the cicadas are parasitic [they suck the life out
of trees both as nymphs for 17 years underground, putting their fangs
into the roots and sucking away, and then again when mating for 2 to 3
weeks above ground, they use hypo-like needle apparati near their
front legs to siphon out juices [blood in a sense] from the trees and
plants to fuel up while attempting to mate], in the end, the poor
critters are driven by the collective mind of the mycorrhizal fungi
which parasitize them both underground and above ground, killing many
of them by digesting their guts as nymphs and eating out and
dessicating their necks as adults. The fungus looks like anthrax
white powder. Check it out.

gerald_t_ford@hotmail.com (Gerald Ford) wrote in message news:<d79d9537.0406011450.bd3e13@posting.google.com>...

Vampire spores & CICADAS

Vampyrellidae Family of mycorrhizal fungi parasitic spores -- live in
the cicada nymph and adult and make the whole species operate like
STEPFORD WIVES or victimized automatons -- discovered as early as 1885
by Zopf.

mycorrhizal fungi

We have found ample published research on alteration of cicada
behavior by Massospora infection. In fact, several
studies of parasites of insects have concluded that the
parasites have evolved to affect the behavior of their
insect hosts in ways that promote the spread of the parasites
among the host populations (Moore 1993, 1995).
A few studies of periodical cicadas have described
infection of these insects by the fungus Massospora
cicadina (Alexander and Moore 1962, Williams and
Simon 1995), and several internet websites briefly
mention possible effects of the fungus on the behavior
of the cicada host.


http://www.nku.edu/~norsci/issue1/2003-7murphy.pdf

excellent websites:
http://collections2.eeb.uconn.edu/collections/cicadacentral/NA/Magicicada/front.htm

The female cicada has a razor sharp ovipositor sex organ that can cut
a deep wound into a tree branch for depositing her 500 eggs, all of
which may become infected by the vampiric fungal spore ... both the
flying male and female cicada adult are still sap and fluid sucking
predators of trees and plants and have hypodermic like sucking
extendors hidden behind their front legs. The cicadas ARE NOT related
in any way to locusts. Locusts are a form of grasshopper, not a sap
sucking larva that grows into a big flying cockroach.

CICADAS are hosts for parasitic fungi spores ...

Some colonize large locust populations that cause synchronized death
in the afternoon; A few do not cause rapid death, but rather stay in
the insect host and discharge spores over a long period.

The ability of metazoan parasites to alter the
behavior of their animal hosts has been well documented
(Clayton and Moore 1997). In fact, several
studies of parasites of insects have concluded that the
parasites have evolved to affect the behavior of their
insect hosts in ways that promote the spread of the parasites
among the host populations (Moore 1993, 1995).
A few studies of periodical cicadas have described
infection of these insects by the fungus Massospora
cicadina (Alexander and Moore 1962, Williams and
Simon 1995), and several internet websites briefly
mention possible effects of the fungus on the behavior
of the cicada host.

We have found ample published research on alteration of cicada
behavior by Massospora infection.

The wing-banger cicada, Platypedia putnami, is
indigenous to mixed coniferous forests of the southern
active for a few weeks during the early summer. Wingbangers
are easily distinguished by their unique courtship
signals, which consist of crepitations (wing-banging),
rather than the more familiar song produced by
the timbal organs of males of most cicada species.
Both male and female P. putnami produce courtship
signals, but the signal patterns of normal males
and females are very different and are easily recognized.
Males generally signal in a long series of crepitation
bouts with several-to-many crepitations per
bout. Female signals usually consist of periodic single
crepitations made in response to the signals of males
they have selected as mates.

Another obvious difference
between male and female P. putnami courtship is
that females remain stationary while they respond to
the signals of selected males; courting males walk or
fly toward the responding females, apparently using
the female crepitations as a means of locating them.