Australian singer/songwriter Laura Imbruglia sent us this photo of her cicada tattoo. Of course, we love it! And we love her music too.
October 11, 2013
October 10, 2013
Masked Devil aka Cyclochila australasiae
Lozang Y. posted this image of a Masked Devil aka Cyclochila australasiae on our Facebook page. The photo was taken in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia.
These cicadas are currently out and singing in the New South Wales area.
The green form of this cicada is called a Green Grocer, the yellow form is called a Yellow Monday, and the Blue Form is called the Blue Moon. The Cyclochila australasiae might have more color variations than even the Gaeana festiva of Southeast Asia.
More info about Cyclochila australasiae from L.W. Popple’s website.
September 22, 2013
Cicada Season has begun in Australia
David Emery wrote to let us know that cicada season has begun in parts of Australia:
After some 50mm of rain on 16-17 Sept and the warmest winter on record on the east coast, the “masked devil” morphs of Cyclochila australasiae were in good voice in the mountains west and south of Sydney, Australia on 22nd Sept. The bladder cicadas (Cystosoma saundersii) are also rattling in Metro Sydney. These are about 2 weeks early this year as are several of the smaller grass cicadas and Pauropsalta species. Roll on summer!
Cheers, David.
Masked Devil cicada (Cyclochila australasiae):
More information about Cyclochila australasiae.
Bladder cicadas (Cystosoma saundersii):
More information about Cystosoma saundersii.
Bottle Cicada (Chlorocysta sp.):
More information about Bottle cicadas.
March 28, 2013
Drymopsalta hobsoni, a newly identified cicada in Australia
Drymopsalta hobsoni is a newly identified cicada found in Australia.
Drymopsalta hobsoni sp. nov. is one of three new species of cicada described this year by Tony Ewart and Lindsay Popple.* Tony and Lindsay had participated in a QPWS fauna survey at Bringalily State Forest, near Inglewood in southern inland Queensland. When returning to the site subsequently for a follow-up cicada search, Tony located the new cicada.
Learn more and see photos of this cicada in Robert Ashdown’s article New summer singers.
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March 16, 2013
Tettigarcta tomentosa aka Tasmanian Hairy Cicada
There are two families of cicadas, Cicadidae (most cicadas) and Tettigarctidae (only two species). The two species in the Tettigarctidae family are Tettigarcta crinita, of southern Australia, and Tettigarcta tomentosa, of Tasmania. Cicadas of the family Tettigarctidae have ancestral morphology, similar to fossilized cicadas1. They are known for their hairy appearance.
Here are some morphological differences between the two cicada families:
| family | Tettigarcta | Cicadidae |
|---|---|---|
| Tymbal (Makes the cicada’s noise) | poorly developed in both sexes | well developmed in males |
| Tympana (listening apparatus) | no | yes |
| Pronotum (covers the dorsal area of the thorax) | expands over mesonotum | ends at pronotal collar |
| Pronotal collar (separates pronotum from mesonotum) | no | yes |
| Cruciform elevation (an X-shaped structure on mesonotum) | no | yes |
1See Allen F. Sanborn’s document Overview of Cicada Morphology for more information.
Here’s a photo of the Tettigarcta tomentosa from different angles (click the image for a closer view):
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December 2, 2012
Blue Cicadas
Blue cicadas. Did you know they exist? They do… at least in Australia.
What’s That Bug recently posted a photo of a blue Bladder Cicada from Australia (Cystosoma saundersii). It’s a great find. Cystosoma saundersii are typically green.
Then there is the Blue Moon blue colored morph of Cyclochila australasiae:
Photo by David Emery
Cyclochila australasiae come in many colors, but the most common color is green. “Blue Moon” is a good nickname for these cicadas because they are rare and only found, idiomatically speaking, “once in a Blue Moon”.
So, why are some cicadas blue, when their species is typically green? Here is a quote from the paper Blue, red, and yellow insects by B. G. BENNETT, Entomology Division, DSIR, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand:
The colours of insects are often due to a complex mixture of pigments, some of which
are concentrated from their diet. These are carotenoids, flavonoids, and anthraquinones, and some are porphyrins made from the breakdown of plant chlorophyll. Insectoverdin is a common green pigment produced by a mixture of blue and yellow compounds. The blue is tetrapyrrole, but sometimes an anthocyanin, and the yellow is a carotenoid.
Blue + yellow = green. If the yellow is missing, you get a blue cicada. I heard that, at least in the case of the Cyclochila australasiae, the blue cicadas are typically females. Perhaps something related to genetics or behavior of the females leads to an inability to process the caroteniods ingested along with their diet (tree fluids). I’m not sure, but it’s a topic that fascinates me, so I’ll continue to look into it.
November 11, 2012
Great website: The cicadas of central eastern Australia
If you are located in Australia and like cicadas, you should visit The cicadas of central eastern Australia, a website created by Lindsay Popple.
Popple’s website includes: photos, maps, range & season, habits, and recordings of the song of dozens of Australian cicadas. Very complete and well done.
The site was recommended to me by David Emery.
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December 31, 2010
Cicada Mania: Y
Y is for Yellow Monday Cicada. The Yellow Monday cicada is the yellow form of the Cyclochila australasiae (the green form is the Green Grocer). Yellow Monday Cicadas lack a turquoise pigment that normally combines with the yellow pigment to form a green color. Visit the Scribbly Gum website for a photo and more information about Yellow Mondays.
A Yellow Monday photo by Tom Katzoulopolopoulous:
Cicada Alphabet: V
V is for Venustria superba, a species of cicada found in Queensland, Australia. The V. superba’s call sounds more like a frog than a cicada.
Read more about the Venustria superba in M.S. Mould’s fantastic book Australian Cicadas.
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December 14, 2010
This is a razor grinder cicada (Henicopsaltria eydouxii)
A Razor Grinder found by Vicki Nunn in Gladstone.
More photos of Razor Grinders.
I wish I had a sound file to post.
The Razor Grinder is found in eastern Queensland and NSW, and most common in December & January (Moulds, M.S.. Australian Cicadas Kennsignton: New South Wales Press, 1990, p. 68.)