Cicada Mania

Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.

November 20, 2007

Cicada photos from Australia

Filed under: Australia | Cyclochila | Kevin Lee | Thopha — Tags: , — Dan @ 8:33 pm

I’m happy to announce that we received our first Australian cicada photos of this season!!! The photos were taken by Kevin Lee, Australia’s biggest cicada maniac.

According to Kevin:

This is the season for cicadas and this year they are more proliferating that usual. Some would call it a plague but I love it.

The birds (kookaburras and magpies) are having a feast!

Double Drummer (Thopha saccata):

Double Drummer (Thopha saccata)

The Double Drummer can be found in parts of eastern Queensland and Eastern NSW, from November to early March. (Moulds, M.S.. Australian Cicadas Kennsignton: New South Wales Press, 1990, p.55)

rare green yellow Green Grocer (Cyclochila australasiae) and others:

Green Grocer (Cyclochila australasiae)

rare green yellow Green Grocer:

Green Grocer (Cyclochila australasiae)

Cyclochila australasiae can be found in eastern Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and most emerge in October and November (Moulds, M.S.. Australian Cicadas Kennsignton: New South Wales Press, 1990, p. 61.).

More: Previous posts about Australia’s cicadas.

See all of Kevin’s cicada photos.

2 Comments »

  1. tug dumbly says:

    that’s not a double drummer – this is a double drummer!
    We must have bred ’em bigger in Nowra in the 70’s, but seriously
    what we called double drummers were twice that size

  2. David E says:

    Great shots and it would be useful to know the sites of capture please Kevin. The “yellow monday” shots above are really closer to the higher altitude (>500m) “Masked devil” colour morph (black “mask” between the eyes and black abdomen) of the Green Grocer. These orange/black variants emerged in huge numbers on the Blue Mountains west of Sydney from Woodford to Blackheath (500-1200m) from 1st October and are dwindling now due to some recent heavy thunderstorms over the past 2 weeks. Your photo is close to the morphs seen around Mt Tomah and Mt Victoria that don’t express the full orange (don’t ask me why as the altitude is only 100-200m difference).
    Large emergences of Thopha saccata (“double drummer”) have occurred south of Sydney over the past 2 weeks.
    Please keep up the great shots- I must send some as well.
    David.

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