'I'm always looking for the Hows and the Whys and the Whats,' said Muskrat, 'That is why I speak as I do. You've heard of Muskrat's Much-in-Little, of course?'
'No,' said the child. 'What is it?'
- The Mouse and his Child. Russell Hoban.

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Tuesday 13 January 2009

Cicada




Look at this beautiful creature that fell into a bucket of rainwater. Ten minutes drying on the top of the compost bin in the sunshine and it was dried out and off. Cicadas- the sound of summer.
Click on each image to enlarge.

6 comments:

  1. Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder !

    Now if it was a female, it seems they are 'meatier' and so more prized for eating purposes. Pity it flew away or you could've had cicada and chips.

    Yum.

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  2. so thaaats what they look like...we were in The Bay of Islands..a beautiful place called Opito Bay..we followed the signs for a nature walk, it was so intriguing...signs saying Kiwi country...found ourselves in a small forest which would have been paradise if not for the ear shattering hum of these amazing little creatures! there must have been millions! the sound was so loud, we actually kind of ran, laughing, and stumbling, holding our ears,looking for escape. i think a person could go mad hearing that for any lenghth of time! or maybe we were just too near too many? do you know are they in the family with crickets?
    thanks for the picture!
    xx

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  3. Beautiful? No way! It looks like it's a model for a Dr Who alien. By the way regarding Vicky and Bert, I think it is time that you had a mama thrush costume made by a local tailor. You would look ever so fetching driving to your local kiwi fruit shop in such an outfit.

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  4. Anonymous14.1.09

    Oh, I love cicadas! I love the noise they make, too - it was one thing we both missed when we came home from New Zealand.

    Pretty little thing, isn't he?

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  5. I'm with you: beautiful. If you are around children enough, everything is beautiful and wondrous.

    And to think that in that cicada's cranium is enough processing power to sing, fly, and avoid (well enough to survive as a species) those who would lunch on them.

    I know humans who can't sing OR fly.

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  6. In our house we have the constant sound of chirping: it's from the crickets that are fed to the geckos. Some escape and flee to the warmth of the bathroom, where the cat chases and eats them. My brother once commented that he thinks the crickets are more interesting than the geckos.

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