Periodical Cicada Standard Data Sheet

Download an Excel-compatible version of the data sheet here
Download PDF version of the data sheet here

This project generates a lot of data, and in the past, data have been submitted in a variety of formats, which has greatly complicated and delayed their integration into the database. In order to streamline this process, please follow a few simple rules and use the standard data sheet to report data. The standard data sheet should be an Excel-compatible spreadsheet with the following column headings, in order:

  • Latitude. Latitude North should be included in decimal (dd.dddd°) format only, WGS 84 map datum. Most GPS units can easily be set to display this format. Degrees, minutes, and seconds format (dd°mm’ss”) or decimal minute format (dd°mm.mmm’) are difficult for computers to parse.
  • Longitude. Longitude West should be included in decimal (dd.dddd°) format only, WGS 84 map datum. Most GPS units can easily be set to display this format. Degrees, minutes, and seconds format (dd°mm’ss”) or decimal minute format (dd°mm.mmm’) are difficult for computers to parse. Note that Longitude West does not have a negative sign for any location in North America.
  • Date. Dates should be recorded in dd/mm/yyyy format.
  • Time. Local time should be recorded using a 24-hour clock.
  • Elevation. Elevation should be given in meters (m).
  • Temperature. Temperature should be given in Fahrenheit (°F).
  • Species. Use full species epithets (skip the genus name, Magicicada) when reporting species identities. Do not use abbreviations (-decim, -decula, etc.), and use “unknown” when the species is not known or when you are recording a negative record.
  • Density. Use the four categories defined in Appendix 1 to record density.
  • State. States should be given as 2-letter postal state abbreviations.
  • Collector. The last name or names of collectors should be recorded in this column.
  • Locality Code. Any locality codes assigned must use the format given in Appendix 7 and are to be considered provisional until incorporated into the database.
  • Locality. A brief description of the locality.
  • Notes. Any notes about the collection site, the cicadas there, etc.,
  • Other. Once you have added columns A-M to your datasheet, you may add as many additional columns as you see fit. Remember to clearly label them.