I hear cicadas all of the time—it is hard to ignore that background buzzing noise. It is rare, however, for me to get an unobstructed view of one.
I spotted this cicada perched on a branch overhanging a pond on Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I couldn’t tell for sure if it was still alive. It was not moving, but it simply may not have detected my presence. While it was great to capture an image of this cool insect, I particularly like how the water in the background turned out—those wispy cloud-like whites were a nice bonus.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Very nice image, Mike.
That background is really effective and I think that, in combination with the look of the cicada, it is all a wee bit sci-fi and other wordly.
My youngest son is a wee bit obsessed with cicadas. He – unknown to me – collected their shed skins for a while and amassed a shoe box full. As they start to die off, he picks up their bodies too – but I have forbidden him to bring those into the house. You may also recall the case of our zombie cicada.
Try nice capture, Mike.
That was meant to say ‘very’ nice!
Thanks, Chris.