Brown Bunyip - Tamasa tristigma

Family Cicadidae

This page contains pictures and information about Brown Bunyip Cicadas that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Male, body length 20mm

Brown Bunyip is one of the most commonly seen cicada in Brisbane bushes and gardens. Most pictures in this page were taken on the Liquidambar trees in our backyard in Eight mile Plains in Brisbane during mid summer. They can also be found on casuarinas (she-oak), acacias (wattle) and jacarandas. They are medium size and usually sit on the tree trunks about two meters from ground. They often sit in the shadow, together with their camouflaged colour, they are not easily be seen.


Male, body length 20mm

This Cicada is light brown in colour with relatively long narrow body. Across the abdomen there are the black, brown and light brown narrow bands. Female's wings are clear, males have three dark spots on tips of each forewings. Males also have boarder and short abdomen.


Female, body length 20mm

We took the above pictures on a gum tree trunk near Bulimba Creek in early summer. The Cicada was hard to be noticed for its camouflage colour. It is pale brown in colour with clear wings.



Their song is a long even continuous low pitch zeep which may continue for minutes.



Reference:
1. Wildlife of Greater Brisbane - Queensland Museum, Brisbane, 1997, p85.
2. Species Tamasa tristigma (Germar, 1834) - Australian Faunal Directory, Australian Biological Resources Study.
3. Cicadas – our Summer Singers - Geoff Monteith, Queensland Museum, September 2000.