CicadaCicada Index Desert Screamer (Burbunga hillieri) Floury Baker (Aleeta curvicosta) Green Grocer (Cyclochila australasiae) Masked Devil (Cyclochila australasiae) Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) Razor Grinder (Henicopsaltria eydouxii) White Drummer (Arunta perulata)

Cicadas are classified in the order Hemiptera, and are mainly found in warm-temperate to tropical habitats. There are more than 300 species of cicadas recognised in Australia (although there is suggested that there may be up to 1,000 species that have yet to be identified), most of whom belong to the one large family, the Cicadidae.

Click on the following to see some of our listed cicadas.

Black Prince (Psaltoda plaga), Bingie NSW © Phil Warburton
Black Prince (Psaltoda plaga)
Desert Screamer (Burbunga hillieri), Alice Springs, NT
Desert Screamer (Burbunga hillieri)
Double-spotted Cicada (Galanga labeculata), Batemans Bay NSW © Phil Warburton
Double-spotted (Galanga labeculata)
Floury Baker (Aleeta curvicosta), Murrumba Downs QLD © Tony Eales
Floury Baker (Aleeta curvicosta)
Golden Emperor (Anapsaltoda pulchra), East Barron QLD © Tony Eales
Golden Emperor (Anapsaltoda pulchra)
Green Grocer (Cyclochila australasiae), Mount Glorious QLD © Tony Eales
Green Grocer (Cyclochila australasiae)
Lesser Bladder Cicada (Cystosoma schmeltzi), Wondai QLD © Tony Eales
Lesser Bladder Cicada (Cystosoma schmeltzi)
Masked Devil (Cyclochila australasiae)
Masked Devil (Cyclochila australasiae)
Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata)
Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata)
Psaltoda (genus), Mount Archer QLD © Tony Eales
Psaltoda (genus)
Rare Bladder Cicada (Cystopsaltria immaculata), Mount Glorious QLD © Tony Eales
Rare Bladder Cicada (Cystopsaltria immaculata)
Razor Grinder Cicada (Henicopsaltria eydouxii), Emerald Beach NSW © Norm Farmer
Razor Grinder Cicada (Henicopsaltria eydouxii)
Spotted Wattle Cicada (Galanga labeculata), Watson ACT © Tony Eales
Spotted Wattle Cicada (Galanga labeculata)
White Drummer Cicada (Arunta perulata), Emerald Beach NSW © Norm Farmer
White Drummer Cicada (Arunta perulata)
Yellowbelly Cicada (Psaltoda harrisii), Guerilla Bay NSW © Phil Warburton
Yellowbelly (Psaltoda harrisii)

Check out the blog The Camouflaged Pisser.


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Hemiptera
  • Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
  • Infraorder: Cicadomorpha
  • Superfamily:
    • Cicadoidea
  • Family: Cicadidae
    • Genus: Many
  • Family: Tettigarctidae
    • Genus: Tettigarcta
Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata)
Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) – emerging from the nymph shell case, Central Australia

Footnote & References

  1. Australian Museum: Cicada – Superfamily Cicadoidea, Retrieved 21 October 2020, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/cicadas-superfamily-cicadoidea/
  2. The Great Cicada Blitz (NSW, Australia), iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/the-great-cicada-blitz-nsw-australia
  3. Cicadas of Australia, iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/cicadas-of-australia
  4. Typical Cicadas (Family Cicadidae), iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50186-Cicadidae#Subfamilies
  5. Cicadas, (Superfamily Cicadoidea), iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50190-Cicadoidea

CicadaCicada Index Desert Screamer (Burbunga hillieri) Floury Baker (Aleeta curvicosta) Green Grocer (Cyclochila australasiae) Masked Devil (Cyclochila australasiae) Orange Drummer (Thopha colorata) Razor Grinder (Henicopsaltria eydouxii) White Drummer (Arunta perulata)

InsectsBees Beetles Blattodea Butterflies Coleoptera Cicada Crabronidae Diptera Dragonflies & Damselflies Formicidae Hemiptera Heteroptera Moths Orthoptera Orthopteroid Processionary Caterpillar Stink Bugs, Shield Bugs and Allies Wasps Water Scorpion (Laccotrephes tristis) Witchetty Grub