Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
Thanks to David Emery for letting us know that the Bladder cicadas (Cystosoma saundersii) are out in Sydney Australia, and for providing this photo.
Badder cicadas are emerging down the Aussie east coast starting around the Queensland -NSW border on Sept 3 (FlickR) and we heard them for the first time on Sept 10 in Sydney. A photo of one captured on Sept 12 is attached to refresh Cicadamania devotees.
David Emery emailed us this amazing photo of Anapsaltoda pulchra cicadas. Anapsaltoda pulchra are also known as Golden Emperors. These cicadas are from Herberton, Queensland, Australia.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Psaltodini
SubTribe: ?
Genus: Anapsaltoda
Species: Anapsaltoda pulchra (Ashton, 1921)
Tribe (Psaltodini) information comes from: MARSHALL, DAVID C. et al.A molecular phylogeny of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) with a review of tribe and subfamily classification.Zootaxa, [S.l.], v. 4424, n. 1, p. 1—64, may 2018. ISSN 1175-5334. Available at: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4424.1.1
David Emery send us a photo of a Cystosoma saundersii (bladder cicada) from Australia and we added it to the gallery.
Just to complement the Aussie cicadas, a small colony of these Cystosoma saundersii have been droning and rattling at dusk around Burwoood in Sydney for the past 2 months. This is their southern-most extension down the east coast of Australia.
cheers,
David.
Click the link above or the image below to access large versions of the image.
More information about Cystosoma saundersii on the CSIRO site.
The Bladder Cicada can be sound in eastern Queensland & NSW, and are most common Nov-Jan. (Moulds, M.S.. Australian Cicadas Kennsignton: New South Wales Press, 1990, p. 193.)
Here’s a photo of a diseased specimen:
This is a photo of the amazing Bagpipe cicada (Lembeja paradoxa) was taken by Timothy Emery (David Emery’s son).
Attached is a photo taken by my son, Timothy Emery from Thursday Island, Torres Strait off Cape York, Queensland. This a male “bagpipe cicada” (Lembeja paradoxa) singing for his female. These guys at rest look like dead leaves with wings folded under stems of grass, but when singing at dusk, rush up the stems and can expand their abdomens incredibly up to 5-10 x resting size (hence the bagpipe bit) and emit a very loud droning sound for their size. A great emergence of these on Thursday Island in the first 2 weeks of January.
The Bagpipe cicada can be found in the Northern tip of Queensland, from October to February, but they’re most common during January. (Moulds, M.S.. Australian Cicadas Kennsignton: New South Wales Press, 1990, p. 178)
Here’s yet another wonderful cicada photo from David Emery in Australia: the Diemeniana euronotiana. The cicada is a mere 20mm in length, and they are now just out in the bushland around 1000m.
The Diemeniana euronotiana can be found in eastern NSW, south-eastern Victoria and Tasmania. They are most common in late November to January. (Moulds, M.S.. Australian Cicadas Kennsignton: New South Wales Press, 1990, p. 112)
Here are some emerging Thopha, Thopha saccata a.k.a. Double Drummer (I think — not 100% sure), taken by David Emery.
The many colors of the Cyclochila australasiae
I asked Dr. David Emery to explain the different colors of the Cyclochila australasiae, a.k.a. the Green Grocer, Yellow Monday, Blue Moon, Masked Devil, etc. David has allowed me to use his explanation on the site, and here it is:
Most “green” cicadas like our GG (Green grocer – Cyclochila australasiae) are coloured from the mixture of yellow and blue pigments. It is quite common for the blue to be missing to various degrees in GGs, and they exhibit shades of lighter green to yellow (even close to orange) and are then called “Yellow Mondays!”. It is also common for the blue pigment to fade in collections and so many “green” species turn a dull beige or brown. This can be fixed with a 24h soaking in 2.5-10% neutral-buffered formalin immediately after killing (or inject formalin after they die). MUCH more rarely, the yellow pigment can be missing and then we get the “Blue Moon”- love those purple eyes! In fact, having collected or spotted more than 10,000 GGs in my time, I have not caught a Blue Moon. My daughter Samantha, found the one in the photo when she was 4 years old, and another when she was 7!!
The orange-black, “masked devil” morph of the GG seems associated with altitude and these progressively appear with increasing frequency amongst GG populations above 500m in the mountains west of Sydney. For example, at Glenbrook, (elevation 150m) they are <5% of the population whereas at Hazelbrook and Blackheath (670m and 1200m, respectively), they increase to around 95% of the population. It was thought that cold underground temperatures during larval and nymphal development might also contribute, but the huge numbers of green GGs west of our ranges argue against a direct effect of temperature alone. Here the winter temps are very cold too, just as cold as the mountains. So just how these “melanisation” effects are mediated remain unresolved- one of life’s tantalizing mysteries!
Here are photos of cicadas by David Emery. Take a look.
Australian Cicada Websites
Here is a Masked Devil cicada (Cyclochila australasiae) photo taken by David Emery. A Masked Devil is the same species as the Green Grocer and Blue Moon.
Here is a White Drummer cicada (Arunta perulata) photo taken by David Emery.
The White Drummer cicada can be found in eastern Queensland and NSW, from November to April, but they are most common during December and January. (Moulds, M.S.. Australian Cicadas Kennsignton: New South Wales Press, 1990, p. 58)
Here is an Redeye cicada (Psaltoda moerens) photo taken by David Emery. The Redeye is also know as the Cherryeye.
The Redeye cicada can be found in eastern NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, and are most abundant in late November and December. (Moulds, M.S.. Australian Cicadas Kennsignton: New South Wales Press, 1990, p.75)