The large brown cicada is an East Asian cicada whose fully opaque brown wings make it unusual among the world's cicadas. It lives in Japan, Korea, and northeastern China and is not found in the United States. Its loud, sizzling song, often compared to oil frying in a pan, is a classic sound of summer there in July and August.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 2.2–2.4 in (55–60 mm) from head to wingtip, with a wingspan of about 3 in (75 mm). The body is blackish, and both pairs of wings are an even, opaque brown.
- Voice
- A loud, monotonous buzz often compared to oil sizzling in a pan. The call ends with a click made by flicking the wings. It is well known for singing at dusk and after sunset.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Forests and woodland edges
- Parks and gardens with trees
- Range
- East Asia only: Japan from Hokkaido to Yakushima, the Korean Peninsula, and northeastern China. In Japan it is common even in city parks; in Korea it is found mostly in hills and mountain forests. It is not found in the United States.
Behavior
- Diet
- Adults and both feed on tree sap; in Japan adults favor cherry and other trees in the rose family.
- Activity
- Adults appear mainly from July to early September.
Life cycle
- Larva
- Nymphs live underground, feeding on sap from tree roots for several years before climbing out to molt into adults.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Its Japanese name, aburazemi, means "oil cicada": the wings look like oiled paper, and the song sounds like frying oil.
- In Japan it is a favorite target of kids' summer-vacation bug collecting.
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