The cicadas are still calling every day here near Bellingen on the NSW mid
north coast - it's really unusually late for them.
We had a big cicada summer in December and January (lots of types, but the
ones I saw were Razor Grinders and Floury Bakers, and I heard a honking one
that I think is the Double Drummer). Then in late January, and again in the
middle of February, we had floods and heavy rains (731 mm for February)
that put a very sudden stop to the loud cicada noise. When the cicadas
started again in March, they were not nearly so loud (and the species mix
was probably different too - the only cicada I have seen this autumn was
the twilight-calling Small Bottle Cicada).
Perhaps the reason for the extended calling season this year is that the
rains in January and February delayed the emergence of the cicada nymphs
that were getting ready to come up at that time?
The extended cicada season certainly hasn't prolonged the stays of migrant
insectivorous birds, most of which seem to have left unusually early this
summer.
Brian Hawkins
Message: 9
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2013 21:02:20 +1000
From: "Paul Osborn" <>
To: <>
Subject: Cicadas in April?!
Message-ID: <
>
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I heard cicadas making a racket last weekend in Tahlee (mid north coast,
NSW) and remarked to my bushwalking friends that I thought it a bit late in
the year. It's been a very quiet year for cicadas at my place this summer.
Paul Osborn
Bulahdelah, NSW
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