Cicadas?
 

Hello, I'm in Illinois and everybody is starting to mention that the cicadas are coming to us this year. I will be in NZ and Aus. during June... which is great because I'll miss most of the cicadas here at home. BUT, somebody just told me that cicadas are also expected in Aus during that time. I'm not sure where to get that information from. Will cicadas also be expected in NZ and Aus during this June 2007?

I can't comment about this June but this past February the cicadas were extraordinary in NZ, particularly the north island......we were literally having to raise our voices to speak over the sound!

Hi Langrobe,
I live in the heart of Australian cicada country and you can rest assured that they are long gone by June. Heard my last lot of them for the season about 4 weeks ago.

Langrobe,
I take it that you are not fond of cicadas which I can only identify with when I'm trying to bird watch and the noise interfers. There may be a few cicadas of the small grass types flying in June but most will be underground as nymphs. While your cicadas can have very long life cycles, most Australian ones are annual. Even those species which have a two year nymph stage have eruptions every year as far as I know. This last season was a great one for them with huge numbers and a wonderful variety of species. Lindsay Popple has a great site for information on the species and when they fly. I cannot get onto it at the moment.
Keira, have you a good way to sort out the various species?

Greetings Langrobe
Dont worry about cicadas in NZ during the month of June. That is the beginning of our winter . I havent heard a cicada since March and probably wont see/ hear one till December. Hope you have a great trip.

In the summer of 2002/03 here in Canberra the cicadas were deafening, and in the following year almost as numerous. Since then I've hardly heard a peep. I always understood that they ran in 7-year cycles, but the severe drought in the SE of the country may be having an effect.

Whatever, I'm sure the pattern varies from region to region, and like the USA Australia is a very big country with great variations in climate, landform and vegetation. More pertinently, though, June in winter in the southern hemisphere and generally not conducive to insect activity.