I had just come home and Scott (Jane & Fred's youngest) and Sarah (his little playmate from over the back) were sitting outside my door watching this little drama unfold.
When I first saw it, the cicada was halfway out of its pupa, but by the time I put my stuff away and got the camera, it had totally emerged (see below).
The grey shell is just behind the newly emerged cicada.
The wings are straightening out and it's trying to get it's strength up.
Scott (who is 8) picked it up to put on a tree trunk...you can get an idea of the size of the cicada compared with an eight-year-old boy's hand.
Once the wings have dried completely, it will be ready to fly (unless a bird gets it first).None of us had seen this before and we were all totally rapt in the transformation of a dull looking pupa into this beautiful creature.
Posts
9 comments:
I've never seen that, either. Right in front of you, that's so cool. You'd think they'd want privacy, huh? And I think that Scott is awfully brave to pick it up, even if he is a fearless 8 yr old boy. He has all the right ideas: he put it in a safe spot, he didn't torment it. Great kids!
That is one BIG cicada! How fascinating to watch it emerge.
Must be bug week or something...
We had them all of the time when I lived in Illinois!! They were to have a crisis this year with too many!! i never heard if that happened. But they can be quite the nuisance!! If this is the first time that you had seen such a thing then i can see how it would amaze you. i don't think that we have them here in Georgia..probably too HOT!! smile. Hope your day is going great/night i mean..Sandy
Crickey Robyn, isn't he a little beauty!!!
Wow...it is huge isn't it?
Awesome post!
Have a great day!
Wow that is enormous... I thought a cicada was like a grasshopper... doesn't it sit in the trees and chirp all night? How does it chirp if it looks like that? Crickets rub their knees... that thing looks like an enormous hornet... in fact I don't think I have EVER seen a bug quite so big ANYWHERE!
I have never seen something like that before.
I am happy houseflies don't grow that big.
Gosh, that's a big one. How great that the children were interested enough to watch it. They haven't learned to be blase about these things yet.
We do have some wonderful wildlife here in Australia don't we? Last week my husband and girls saw a 2 and a half metre brown snake. He ran it over twice because there were kids playing in the street. It still managed to slither away unscathed so he herded all the kids home out of harms way.
Post a Comment