Cicadas – those inscects that we don’t very often see but we very often hear buzzing and clicking on those hot and humid days.
Cicada comes from Latin and translates to mean tree cricket.
One day awhile ago there was one on a deck post and I was able to get some good macro photos of it by leaning over the railing. This was the first time we had actually seen a cicada, other than images in books.
It stared right back at me with those very prominent eyes, set far apart, almost appearing as if they see to the sides. The patterns and colours on the wings and back of the body were fascinating.
Many cicadas have an long life cycle, of 13 to 17 years. Yet when one hatches they live only about 6 weeks. Females lay the eggs in the soil, the young nymph lives underground and feeds on the juice from tree roots. When they emerge they climb the tree, shed skin and become adults. Yet other species emerge yearly.
There is a bit of a strange story to this cicada. We first saw it on the deck railing while we were sitting outside. After taking photos and then checking back it had gone, and we figured it had flown away. Yet a few hours later my husband came out of the bathroom and said he had found another of the same bug in there. He popped it onto a cloth and we put it back outside and I took some more photos. Strange there should be one inside. Our explanation is that it must of hopped/moved/flown and landed on my husband as he was sitting right beside the railing. When he went inside, so did the cicada and then it hopped off and was discovered again. After awhile he vanished from the towel and I’m sure this time he returned to the trees at the back of the garden.
I found out from doing some research that cicadas will occasionally land on a person thinking they are a food source. Perhaps it was getting no food from the pressure treated deck wood and thought it would try the next closest thing .. a human.
I’m glad I had the opportunity to take some macro photos of this fascinating lens friend.
Nature never fails to amaze me.
lots more lens friends
birds in the garden … critters in the garden … water birds
