Brood X Cicada Nails!

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 I live in the middle of the east coast, which means that I'm in the area that's inundated with the Brood X cicada emergence.  Cicadas are totally harmless, so I'm not at all freaked out by the insect horde, quite the contrary!  The genus for these guys is literally Magicicada, and they are truly magical.  After living a very long life underground, they head to the surface not because of some ideal condition of weather or food supply or anything else practical, but simply when their utterly amazing internal clock tells them all it's been 17 whole years. 

They also have a lot of personal significance for me - I left my home state, family, and friends behind for the job opportunity of a lifetime, and the first summer after my arrival here, the cicadas made their arrival too.  In China, cicadas represent resurrection, a new start, and lofty goals.  I've been looking forward to their return all spring, and they're here and just as amazing as the first time I saw them!

For this look, I've painted my index nail in green and stamped with a leaf image from MoYou London Tropical 12.  My thumb is black, and stamped in copper horizontal stripes, like the underside of a Magicicada.  The rest of my nails have a white jelly base, with the middle nail having a free-handed cicada in black with jewel red eyes, and the ring and pinky having tips of cicada wings encapsulated into the topcoat.  The cicadas are halfway through their time here, and my sidewalk is littered with wings that are all that's left after the birds have eaten the rest, so it was easy to collect wings right off the ground. 

My rough draft for this look used wings stamped in metallic copper from KADS Flower 015 alternating with sections of a bee image from Creative Shop 38.  I ultimately didn't like this look because the alternating black & copper looked too Halloween, and the bee just didn't look like a cicada.

I know they're not everyone's cup of tea - some of my friends are legit phobic, while others are lamenting their dogs' unending consumption of bugs - but I'm thoroughly entranced with what is one of the most amazing phenomena in the natural world.  

~Michelle 

Comments

  1. AnankaJune 12, 2021 at 3:24 PM

    Great nails :-D

    OMG I love insects! I go walking most days and am forever taking photos of insects. I didn't know about these insects until a woman I met told me about them then I googled it. What a gorgeous creature <3

    ReplyDelete

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