About Cicadas

A Cicada is an insect with large eyes wide apart on the head and usually transparent, well-veined wings. There are about 2500 species of cicada around the globe, and many remain unclassified. Pauropsalta is one of the largest genera of cicada in Australia. For the amateur, identification of cicadas is not an easy matter. Lindsay Popple’s cicada web site lists many species for the genus Pauropsalta, most of which occur in South-East Queensland. One of the most common and widespread is the Small Bark Squeaker Pauropsalta fuscata. Another common one, not too dissimilar to P. fuscata and slightly larger is Bark Squeaker Pauropsalta corticinus.

Bark Squeaker

Bark Squeaker. Photo: Robert Whyte

Possibly a Bark Squeaker, the close-up shows the wide apart large eyes and what appear to be (as in other bugs) the tiny red ocelli or simple eyes. They are light sensitive organs but not eyes in the usual sense. Photo: Robert Whyte

Razor Grinder

The Razor Grinder Henicopsaltria eydouxii is a large cicada in dry and wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest edges. Main trunks of various Myrtaceae are preferred perching sites. Song is an exceptionally loud series of broken pulses that increases in volume and culminates into a continuous roar, which then brakes up and dies away somewhat abruptly. Local groups of males sing at the same time.

Photo: Robert Whyte

This specimen was photopgraphed Sunday 30 December 2007 on the Rainforest Circuit at Mount Glorious. Photo: Robert Whyte

Small Bottle Cicada

This Small Bottle Cicada Chlorocysta congrua in subfamily Tibicininae has a body length of about 20 mm. The abdomen is comparatively large. Wings are clear with green veins. They only sing for about 4 seconds then stop for a while before another call.

Photo: Robert Whyte