Aleeta

Aleeta: The Floury Baker Cicada

Imagine a tiny artist, dusting itself with flour to blend into its surroundings—this is how the Aleeta curvicosta, or the floury baker cicada, gets its name. This unique insect, native to Australia’s eastern coastline, has been around for centuries and continues to fascinate entomologists and nature enthusiasts alike.

The Appearance of Aleeta

With its distinctive white filaments covering its body, brown eyes, and pale patterns, the floury baker cicada is a sight to behold. Its appearance is so striking that it earned both ‘baker’ and ‘miller’ monikers by 1860. The genus was previously known as Abricta, but in 2003, it was reclassified due to genetic differences among Australian members.

The Sound of Aleeta

Now, imagine a symphony that can be heard at any time of day. That’s the male call of the floury baker cicada! It produces a hissing-type sound by clicking tymbal ribs, resulting in a pulse repetition frequency of around 1050 per second. The abdominal tracheal air sacs amplify this sound, allowing for volume, pitch, or tone changes during song introduction. No wonder it’s one of Australia’s loudest cicadas and has been termed ‘the best musician of them all.’

The Life Cycle of Aleeta

From the moment an egg is laid in a series of slits on branches or twigs, usually around 16 eggs per batch, to the emergence of the nymphs after about 70 days (or longer in cold or dry conditions), the life cycle of the floury baker cicada is fascinating. After hatching, these nymphs fall to seek cracks in the soil to burrow, often up to 40 cm deep, before moulting five times before emerging.

The Emergence and Behavior

During emergence, which can vary from a few days to several months, there are typically 15 males for every female. The metabolic rate during this period is about 1.8 times the resting metabolic rate of adults. Nymphs emerge on most tree species but avoid Norfolk pine and broad-leaved paperbark. Adults are usually found between November and May, with some early sightings in September and late June observations.

The Habitat and Predators

These cicadas can be found across a range of habitats from rainforest margins to suburbs, often perched facing downwards on tree branches, preferring Myrtaceae species as host plants. Adults are slow fliers, generating low aerodynamic power and short flights lasting around 3 minutes. Four seconds with an average of 3 changes in direction, the cicada can’t land and has a moderate reaction time when stationary or flying.

Common Predators

The floury baker cicada faces numerous predators, including wrens, fantails, honeyeaters, butcherbirds, magpie-larks, crows, herons, and the tawny frogmouth. The cicadas are also preyed on by the cicada killer wasp.

So, the next time you hear a loud hissing sound in the Australian bush, it might just be the floury baker cicada, performing its symphony and blending into nature with its unique appearance. These insects are more than just a part of the ecosystem; they’re a testament to the beauty and complexity of life in Australia.