The black giant cicada is a big, glossy black cicada from Japan, where it has the loudest song of any native cicada. Males buzz loudly on midsummer mornings in city parks and street trees. It does not live in the United States.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 1.5–2 in (4–5 cm) long. Shiny black body with two white bands across the abdomen and clear wings with greenish veins near the base. Males have a large orange plate under the abdomen.
- Voice
- Males sing loudly from sunrise to about noon, peaking around 7–10 a.m., at about 80–90 decibels.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- City parks
- Street trees
- Low hills
- Range
- Warm lowlands of Japan, from southern Kanto westward to the Nansei Islands. It has been spreading north and becoming more common in big cities such as Osaka.
Life cycle
- Breeding season
- Adults appear in Japan from early July to early September and live about two weeks.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
- Threats
- In western Japan, females have laid eggs in fiber-optic cables, mistaking them for dead twigs, which led to many cut lines in the mid-2000s and a redesign of the cables.
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.