A CICADA SPRING & AN URBAN MYTH

EVERY MALE CICADA IS A CARUSO IN HIS WAY, BUT THE SPECIES HAS NO MELBAS. (The Sun, Dec, 23 1923)

Those singers  are accompanied by their own orchestra; all brass and strings.

Let’s play that again chaps. 😎

Showing what’s what. (Sydney Sun, Jan 14 1951)

My Blackheath garden has been full of orange, Masked Bandit cicadas, but when someone mentioned finding a Black Prince, an old urban myth resurfaced. ‘Take it to the chemist and he will pay you a fortune for it.’ I can imagine the bemused reaction from Martin, our lovely chemist. Here is a great photo of that highly prized creature;

A Sydney newspaper once attempted to debunk the myth; ‘There’s no truth in the rumour that a Clovelly chemist is prepared to pay good money for cicadas, because he wants to corner a ‘mysterious acid’ contained in their frail bodies. The furphy had it that Floury Bakers were worth 7s 6d, Cherry Noses 5s, Black Princes 4s, Double Drummers 3s, and Washer Women 2s, 6d…..Unfortunately no-one could find the right chemist, and as a result, dozens of potential capitalists were left with unwanted goods on their hands. Said chemist, P. Boyne, Clovelly Road, Clovelly; “I had a young hopeful in yesterday offering to sell me a Double Drummer for 10s. He got the shock of his life when I told him I wasn’t in the locust market”.  (Truth, Nov. 27 1949)

The Floury Baker looks rather similar to the Prince. Look at those wings, aren’t they beautiful?

Wow, looks like a Black Prince!

Oh dear, and another enemy besides curious children. Yes, a crunchy snack for a magpie.

Photo credit – Rob Conolly

We once had a Greengrocer cicada visit our insect house, perhaps he was delivering a bit of fruit and veg to the guests.

In conclusion, how lovely is this?  A Siberian Iris bud adorned by a resting cicada.

FOR MORE ON THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE CICADA FROM THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, CLICK HERE.