Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) photos by Jodi from 2007. Australia.
Text for the photos from back in 2007: “Thanks to Jodi for allowing us to post some of her Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) photos. Two today, two tomorrow! Apparently they’re hatching in droves in Central Australia.”
A molting Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata):
Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata):
Teneral, recently molted Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata):
Teneral, recently molted Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata):
Thopha saccata is a cicada found in Australia. It is also known as the Eastern Double Drummer.
Photo by Dan Mozgai:
Photo by Kevin Lee:
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Thophini
Genus: Thopha
Species: Thopha saccata (Fabricius, 1803)
For more information about this cicada, visit A web guide to the cicadas of Australia by L. W. Popple.
Thopha colorata is a cicada found in Australia. It is also known as the Orange Drummer and W Bug because of the W on its back (mesonotum) (thanks David Emery).
Photo by Jodi:
A gallery of more of Jodi’s photos.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Thophini
Genus: Thopha
Species: Thopha colorata Distant, 1907
For more information about this cicada, visit A web guide toThe cicadas of Australia by L. W. Popple.
Thopha sessiliba is a cicada found in Australia. It is also known as the Northern Double Drummer.
Photo by Kees Green:
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Thophini
Genus: Thopha
Species: Thopha sessiliba Distant, 1892
For more information about this cicada, visit A web guide toThe cicadas of Australia by L. W. Popple.
Thopha sessiliba Distant, 1892 is found in northern Austalia and is commonly known as the Northern Double Drummer. Like other members of the Thophini tribe, T. sessiliba has prominent sack-like tymbal covers, from which they get their common name “drummers”.
Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Thophini
Genus: Thopha
Species: Thopha sessiliba Distant, 1892
Thopha genus description by W. L. Distant:
Characters. — Head short, broad, equal in width to apex of pronotum; eyes more or less pedunculated, prominent; ocelli four times more distant from eyes than from each other; apex of clavus acuminate; front destitute of a longitudinal sulcus; pronotum with the lateral margins almost truncate or slightly convex, widened forwardly; tegmina vitreous, basal area not twice longer than broad, interior ulnar area broadened towards apex; ulnar veins distant at base; wings vitreous, with six apical areas; opercula short, transverse; tympanal coverings very strongly developed and sac-like, projecting beyond the lateral abdominal margins in male.
The NCSU Libraries Rare and Unique Digital Collections website recently reminded the us of artist Eugene Alain (E.A.) Seguy’s insect illustrations. Seguy created these illustrations in the 1920’s, and as you might imagine, some of the cicada names cited in the notes for these illustrations have changed. Names typically change when cicadas are reclassified due to discoveries about their biology, or when we realize that someone else had actually named them earlier than the namer currently given credit.
Here are the two illustrations, the accompanying identification, and corrected identifications.
Illustration:
Accompanying identification:
1. Tacua speciosa. Indes; 2. Polyneura ducalis. Indes Or.; 3. Cicada saccata. Australie; 4. Cicada fascialis. Siam; 5. Tozena melanoptera. Indes Or.
Corrected or expanded identification:
Illustration:
Accompanying identification:
1. Goeana festiva. Indes; 2. Zammara tympanum. Amérique du Sud; 3. Goeana ochracea. Indes; 4. Phenax variegata. Brésil; 5. Hemisciera maculipennis. Amazone
Corrected or expanded identification:
Kees Green sent us many photos of cicadas taken in Australia.
Here is a sample:
A Green Grocer (Cyclochila australasiae) nymph:
An unidentified Pauropsalta sp.:
A Thopha sessilibia:
More cicada images from Kees:
Thanks to Jodi for allowing us to post some of her Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) photos. Two today, two tomorrow! Apparently they’re hatching in droves in Central Australia.
Here are some emerging Thopha, Thopha saccata a.k.a. Double Drummer (I think — not 100% sure), taken by David Emery.
