27 Oct 2023

Critter of the Week: The Canterbury scree cicada

From the collecton Critter of the Week

Summer is on its way and that means our cicadas are crawling their way out of the ground to sing up a storm.

Did you know Aotearoa is home to the world's only alpine cicadas?

The Canterbury scree cicada, Maoricicada mangu mangu, is part of this exclusive club and has a few adaptations that help it survive the high life: it is black, very hairy and has short, rounded wings.

Canterbury scree cicada

Canterbury scree cicada Photo: supplied