Cicada

[ellarien]

cicada
Originally uploaded by ellarien.

Here in Arizona, we get cicadas every year; in the hot weather they sizzle away from early morning until late afternoon. Big as they are, they're not easy to spot hiding in the trees, but I managed to track this one down one day last week.

Comments

[athenais.livejournal.com]

What a fantastic photo!

[ellarien]

Thanks!

[intertext.livejournal.com]

Woo - ugly SOB, isn't he? I remember hearing them singing at night when I was in China - very evocative. And great shot!

[ellarien]

Oh yes, I've been thinking about the Beijing version lately. They were really noisy in the evenings, in the grounds of the Friendship Hotel. These are shriller and diurnal, but very much part of the summer experience here.

[lapswood.livejournal.com]

Am I right in saying that cicada's come in only 5 year intervals in some parts of the USA and in their millions.

[ellarien]

There are different species with different periods, I think, including at least one with a seventeen-year cycle.

[badkarma-one.livejournal.com]

We get them every year, but a smaller variety. Our two Jack Russells love to hunt them, then toy with them until they're dead.

This year, our yard has been a cicada buffet for house sparrows. Sit out in the yard and it isn't long before the sparrows descend for a meal.

[ellarien]

These don't seem to be that prolific, but they're so well hidden it's hard to tell. I get the impression it's usually one per small tree.