Tales from the garden: Cicadas

When 2025

I am a big fan of cicadas and can be found wandering off in search of them any time I hear them singing. Hubby's already at an age where he doesn't hear some of them any more and there may be ones in the garden that only the children can hear. I know the tui can hear them though. There'll be a trill of a cicada just starting to sing, and then it will make a loud noise, which I can only describe as disgruntled, and off it goes in a tui's beak.

It seemed as if there were precious few cicadas in the garden this summer. I would hear the odd one: The skip-skip-skippity-skip of a northern snoring cicada (that is genuinely what it is called) and the deee-ika-ika-ika of a clapping cicada. But the whole North Shore seemed remarkably quiet. The large pohutukawa down Sylvan Avenue close to Onepoto Domain would normally be deafening with cicadas, but there was nothing.

A clay bank cicada on Christmas Day

Then, at the very end of January, the sound just erupted. Come February there were cicadas everywhere.

Hear the summer hum of cicadas in the garden

Like moths, cicadas get more varied and interesting as you go down the country, but because there are not many species in the Auckland area, it is a lot easier for a beginner to learn about them.

I have a book called "Cicadas of New Zealand" by Olly Hills. What makes it special is that Olly was 11 years old when he wrote it. Unless you are interested in birds, there are precious few books written about New Zealand wildlife in order to identify species. Olly was really interested in our varied New Zealand cicadas, but couldn't access the information, either wrapped up in scientific language in research papers or online. With a supportive family he travelled the country in search of cicadas and wrote a book, which he wanted other kids to be able to understand. That probably gears it to my knowledge level perfectly.

A chorus cicada

The cicadas most people here know are chorus cicadas. They are our largest and, in quantity, our loudest cicada. Their bright colour also sets them apart.

Clapping cicadas are also out in force. They are similar to chorus cicadas, but are a dull olive green and have a different song. Apparently another couple of kids worked out they were two different species. That's the thing about New Zealand. There are precious few scientists and a lot of life to catalogue and study, so keen young naturalists become known and are nurtured by the community.

A clapping cicada

Back in our garden, where the children are particularly interested in how far the WiFi extends, there must be only so many good warming spots in the early sun. With so many cicadas active, some brave our balcony and the dark warmth of the sun umbrella and even the outdoor chairs. On multiple mornings I've found them out there. It feels almost like cheating when they come to you and you don't have to try and spot them in trees.

I hope that with our own patch of bush, I'll get to see all the types of cicada I'm already familiar with and maybe even some of the varieties I've still to see or hear. These are exciting times for an amateur naturalist, even an older one!