It’s not an #Aussiesummer without the deafening concert of thousands of #cicadas. Around October, you can see the first empty shell of a #newlyhatched cicada on a #treetrunk or your #fence.
They will soon fill the #air with their #song before they disappear again for #winter. But where have they been during the colder months?
At the end of summer, each female cuts small slits into #plantstems and #branches and places her #eggs inside. From these eggs #nymphs hatch, which drop to the ground and dig themselves into the #soil.
They find a #root, attach themselves and start sucking the #sap. Some species remain in this state for a few #months; others stay #undergroundforyears.
On the first hot days of #latespring or #earlysummer, especially after #rain, the nymphs will make their way to the surface. They climb up a vertical object, often the #tree on which they were born and that they have been feeding on, and #shedtheirshell. It is now a winged insect with a wing span of up to 2 centimeters and a pair of drum-like organs called tymbals, which they use to sing their song.
Cicadas are a #foodsource for so many #animals, no wonder they breed in such massive numbers. They are prey for #rodents, #marsupials, #reptiles, #birds, #fish, #insects, and #spiders https://backyardbuddies.org.au/backyard-buddies/cicadas/
