I heard the first cicada this morning. They haven't been a big feature of summer here in Petone for the last two years, not like the cacophony that marked some summers in the bush before the move. I googled the New Zealand cicada and it lead me to Te Ara Encyclopedia - an online kiwi resource. This morning's cicada probably spent three to four years underground before emerging last night and shedding his skin. I say 'his' because apparently it's the males who do all the chirping. This morning was his big chance to impress the ladies and enjoy the sunshine on this glorious Petone morning.
According to Te Ara:
Predators and other threats include wasps, beetles, fungal parasites, birds and spiders.
If it was Wikipaedia I could amend the entry to include domestic felines. I heard the first cicada this morning because it was chirping bravely between Millie's jaws after she shot like a rocket into the agapanthus to retrieve it.
The mighty hunter is now reclining on the deck, her work complete but ever vigilant for the next breech of the border.
I hear cicadas all the time.
ReplyDeleteYes, but down this way its usually more in Feb/march. They have a big season every few years so maybe its not just being away from a bush setting that has made the difference. We could be in for one of the years where journalists, unable to find a proper news story, sit in the bush recording decible levels and comparing them to jumbo jets ...
DeleteActually it is due to tinnitus. It would have to be a pretty noisy cicada for me to hear it.
ReplyDelete