Jessee J. Smith

Joined: Apr 4, 2019 Last Active: Oct 15, 2024 iNaturalist Monthly Supporter since July 2020

Photos of Magicicada undersides fill me with joy. I am grateful to be part of this community, where I focus primarily on identifying certain beetles, cicadas, and the local plants with which I'm familiar. I love Magicicada, tiger beetles, and clerids, and I'm also infatuated with Calopteron and the interesting web of species that mimic those foul-tasting lycids. I'm part of team Cicada Safari, working with my husband, Gene Kritsky, to map the distribution of the various broods of Magicicada.

I'm a graduate of Mount St. Joseph University in western Cincinnati, Ohio, with a B.S. in Natural Science, a B.A. in General Art, and a B.F.A. in Fine Art (Sculpture). I'm the copyeditor of American Entomologist, the flagship journal of the Entomological Society of America, and I have served as copyeditor and layout designer for several publications of the Ohio Biological Survey, including A Naturalist's Guide to the Fishes of Ohio (Dan Rice and Brian Zimmerman, 2019) and A Naturalist's Guide to the Crayfish of Ohio (Roger F. Thoma, 2022). I've also been a professional metalsmith and jewelry designer since 2003; many of my designs are inspired by insects and other natural wonders. My work is available through Etsy at SilverspotStudio and SilverspotMetalworks.

My iNat projects:
2024 Magicicada: Broods XIII and XIX (Wanted: your sound recordings and photos of cicada undersides!)

2023 Magicicada Stragglers, tracking off-cycle emergers in 2023
Magicicada Stragglers: 2022, tracking off-cycle periodical cicadas that emerged in 2022
Biodiversity of the Western Wildlife Corridor, a land trust organization protecting wild spaces on Cincinnati's West Side
Brood X Cicadas: 2021
Mimics of Calopterini and its sister project, Mimics of Calopterini (Identified)
What's Eating Cicadas?, a collection of Magicicada's predators

she/her/hers
🏳️‍🌈 proud ally 🏳️‍⚧️
Made in Ohio

View All