Green grocer cicada (Cycochila australasiae) 2016

Summary

This drawing depicts an adult green grocer cicada, on the outline of a branch. Green grocer cicadas are one of the loudest insects in the world. Males make a fast clicking nose to attract a mate and females respond by making a snaping noise with their wings. Cicadas spend most of their life underground. Adults lay eggs in plant stems, when they hatch the wingless nymphs fall to the ground and burrow into the soil. On spring and summer nights the nymphs emerge from the soil and climb up a tree trunk, to shed their skin and fly away as adult cicadas. The illustration was drawn by Kate Cranney for the City of Melbourne's publication 'The Little Things that Run the City'. The book explores the diversity of insects we have within our city’s boundaries and examines what we can do to help them survive and thrive.