Cicada comes to visit

in hive-101587 •  3 years ago 

With the arrival of the monsoon (ie more rain than usual) season here in the Southwest comes the incessant buzz of the Cicada, of which there are about 3 dozen species here in Arizona. This one, a Grand Western Flood Plain Cicada (Megatibicen cultiformis) - which emerge after three years of growing underground - decided to pay us a visit by landing on our screen door.
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Despite their large size and(somewhat) fearsome appearance they are completely harmless as they neither bite or sting. As a matter of fact the only thing on their mind(?) is to find a mate to continue their life cycle after which they die.
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The cicada has a few natural predators, the ultimate here in Arizona being the aptly named Cicada Killer Wasp which lays its eggs on the paralyzed cicada.
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https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef004

However my Lulu most certainly was not a threat and was not at all interested in this big, noisy creature
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This one seemed not to be concerned about me and was in no hurry to fly off so I was able to take several photos while he walked around on my hand.
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