Cicada Mania

November 28, 2007

Filed under: Australia, David Emery — Dan @ 12:39 pm

Here is an Redeye cicada (Psaltoda moerens) photo taken by David Emery. The Redeye is also know as the Cherryeye.

These ones are all in our trees we also have a few green & devil masked ones, but mainly these red eye ones, they spray some sort of liquid when they sense trouble and are alot harder to catch.

Comment by Tim — December 18, 2007 @ 12:21 am
I don’t just have a few i have atleast 50 + per tree, they are in atleast 7 ot 8 gum trees. When will these bugger’s die ?

Comment by Tim — December 18, 2007 @ 12:27 am
Hi Tim,
Where are you living? There ARE some local massive emergences this season on the East Coast. I was in Katoomba yesterday and the cold rainy weather has seen out most of the Masked Devils, but there are plenty of larger species still out and now many smaller, more interesting species. Cicadas suck sap from the food plants (like aphids and other hemiptera) and the “spray” is water left over from their extraction of sugars from the sap to use for energy (to sing for the males!!). So when alarmed, but also when simply functioning normally, you will get “showered” or “excreted” upon, and this is the “rain” that drifts down on you when you stand under a loud group of cicadas in full voice in trees!! They will die out in around 3-4 weeks and then you have the silence of winter!
Have a great Christmas,David.

Comment by David E — December 19, 2007 @ 5:09 pm