Click on the image for a larger version
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Large Cicada |
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Click on the image for a larger version
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Large Cicada |
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Large Cicada (Melampsalta
cingulata), |
Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot
| Explanation:
Clinging to a tree is this male Large Cicada, in the small hamlet of
Pelorus Bridge on South Island, New Zealand. Large Cicadas -- called
"tatarakihi" by the
local Maoris
-- have a wingspan of about 75 mm (3 inches).
Their songs -- a loud chirping that ends with a click caused by a flick of the wings -- fill the summer days, but only the males sing. This led the Greek poet Xenarchus to write "Happy are cicadas' lives, For they have only voiceless wives." (No, wives, don't complain to us, we didn't write this verse!) Cicadas lay their eggs on (and often kill) twigs and leaves of trees and shrubs. As they hatch, the larvae drop to the ground and burrow, where they feed in the soil on roots of trees and other perennial plants. When grown, they emerge, climb up a tree trunk, shed their brown horny skin that has only rudimentary wings, and the perfect flying machine shown above emerges. The tunneling done by the larvae within the soil may help aerate the soil and enrich it with the insect's excretions and dead bodies. Such soil insects improve the physical structure of soil and add to its organic matter content and its productivity. Think of the underground world next time you hear a cicada sing! Information: Powell, A.W. B. 1993. Native animals of New Zealand. Auckland Institute & Museum, Auckland, New Zealand. Institute Press Limited, Auckland. |
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