Red Eye Cicada
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© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Psaltoda
- Species
- moerens
- Subfamily
- Cicadinae
- Family
- Cicadidae
- Super Family
- Cicadoidea
- Suborder
- Auchenorrhyncha
- Infraorder
- Cicadomorpha
- Order
- Hemiptera
- Class
- Insecta
- Subphylum
- Uniramia
- Phylum
- Arthopoda
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- 11 cm - 12 cm
Introduction
The Red Eye cicada can be very common one year, with thousands of individuals in a few trees, but then completely absent the next year.
Habitat
The Red Eye lives in urban areas, forests and woodlands.
Distribution
The Red Eye is found from southern Queensland to Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
Feeding and diet
The Red Eye prefers eucalypts and large Angophora trees in open bushland, but it can also be found on other trees in suburban areas. It is not advisable to stand under trees with high populations of Red Eyes. As the cicadas feed on the tree sap, they expel small droplets of clear waste fluid, which can fall to the ground in a constant spray when numbers are high.
Communication
The song of the male Red Eye is distinctive with two parts - a slow revving sound and a continuous call with a mild rattle. It sings at any time, and on hot days almost continuously.
