The Cassini periodical cicadas are a pair of closely related species of periodical cicadas: Magicicada cassini [a] (Fisher, 1852), having a 17-year life cycle, and Magicicada tredecassini (Alexander and Moore, 1962), a nearly identical species with a 13-year life cycle.
Courting behavior of Cassini cicadas is unusual because large groups of males may sing and fly together in synchrony. Bursts of sound alternate with silence as thousands of males sing in unison, then leave perches and seek a new perch before the next ensemble song.
- ^ Fisher, J.C. (1852). "On a new species of Cicada". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 5: 272–275.
- ^ a b Marshall, David C. (8 April 2022). "On the spelling of the name of Cassin's 17-Year Cicada, Magicicada cassini (Fisher, 1852) (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)". Zootaxa. 5125 (2): 241–245. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5125.2.8. [open access]
- ^ "International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 4th Edition". ICZN. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ Alexander, R.D., and T. E. Moore. (1962). The evolutionary relationships of 17-year and 13-year cicadas, and three new species (Homoptera, Cicadidae, Magicicada). Miscellaneous Publications of the Museum of Zoology of the University of Michigan 121: 1–59.
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