Cicada season

JodieDownUnder

I had the wonderful opportunity to watch the process of a cicada coming out of the ground, crawling up a tree and shedding the outer shell, drying its wings and then flying off. It took about 4 hrs. I’ve never really thought about its life cycle before. Just whinged about the noise but I have a new appreciation for them. Now I’m noticing them all over the place and to think I hadn’t seen this before!

Depending on the species, they appear every year, every 7 yrs or even longer. The hole they leave in the ground, is excellent for water penetration. They provide food for the birds and they keep the bush trimmed. Only live about 6 weeks. The males make the noise to attract a mate. Lucky they give it up at night time, all to do with temperature, apparently!

LaurieLovesLearning

What an interesting experience!