July 28th, 2007
ricochet
On my Thursday afternoon insect walk around the farm, I came upon quite a few interesting sights. What all had in common was that something unusual was revealed, either through my photographs, or by spending a bit of time on observation. I’ll write about each of these sightings in this and the next couple of posts.
In our region, the buzz-saw whining call of Dog-day Cicadas (Tibicen canicularis) frequently fill the air during the hottest hours of the afternoon. They are one of those creatures that is more often heard than seen as they generally hang out in the treetops. However, now and then, I encounter one that has decided to perch closer to the ground.
On Thursday’s walk, as I was leaving the woods and heading out into the meadow on the way back to the house, I caught sight of something large and dark zooming erratically in twisting loops from the vegetation and up into one of the poplar trees. From its size and flight, I knew it must be a cicada, so I searched until I found it sitting on a branch about three meters above the ground. I decided to wait to see what it would do. Within seconds, it shot out of the tree and began careening about over the meadow. A second cicada then appeared and the two of them briefly zoomed along together before parting company. I lost sight of one, but found the other perched on a small pine tree. Moving in closer, I was able to take a couple of photos before the cicada blasted off on a crazy trajectory that sent it flying not far from my head as it buzzed back into the tree tops.
When I uploaded my photos, I was surprised to find that there was a second insect behind the cicada (see above – click on image for a larger view). It was a large grasshopper of some kind. It must have been resting in the pine tree when the cicada dropped by for a brief visit. While concentrating on shooting one thing, I sometimes missing seeing something else that’s quite close by. Once I put the photos up on the computer, I think, “Doh! How could I not have seen that!” However, that’s one of the very nice things about taking macro photos. Images are often full of surprises. I’ll post about another tomorrow.
Tags: cicada, Dog-day Cicada, Tibicen canicularis