Cicadas are the loudest insects in the world and there are more than 200 species in Australia [AM]. -The intense noise is thought to scare away predators and can reach 120db.
Here is an elderly Black Prince (Psaltoda plaga) found in our permaculture garden as he was lying in his death roes.
“Cicada facts:
- Only male cicadas sing. They do this in an attempt to find a mate.
- Different species have different songs to attract only their own kind.
- Adult cicadas have short lives, usually only a few weeks.
- Most of their lives are spent as nymphs underground. For some species this can be up to several years.
- Cicadas feed only on plant sap using their piercing, sucking mouthparts.
- Cicadas feed on a huge range of plants, including eucalypts and grasses.
- Birds, bats, spiders, wasps, ants, mantids and tree crickets all prey on cicadas.”
– See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/Cicadas-Superfamily-Cicadoidea/#sthash.6IB0uCTI.dpuf