Like Clockwork

The Northern Green Grocer, Cychlochila virens Distant

For the past few weeks each night at 6.42 pm (EST) large numbers of Northern Green Grocer, Cychlochila virens Distant, commence their deafening cacophony. The blast lasts for 15 minutes, then there is silence. Evening downpours do not deter these insects. Max Moulds tells me this will continue for weeks with the starting times beginning slightly later as daylight light lengthens. Starting times may vary with locality because Max in his book states these cicadas commence at approximately 7.15, or, perhaps, he made his observations much later in the season.

Its amazing that these big cicadas are so precise with their group calling song and they are all in synchrony as you can hear below. This species lives in lush rainforest in a very narrow distribution in the Cairns region along the coast and on some inland tablelands.

Literature

Moulds, . S. 1990. Australian Cicadas. Pp. 1-217. New South Wales University Press, Kensington, NSW.