Auscala spinosa

Auscala spinosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Auchenorrhyncha
Family:	Cicadidae
Genus:	Auscala
Species:	A. spinosa
Binomial name
Auscala spinosa (Goding & Froggatt, 1904) [1] [2]

Auscala spinosa is a species of cicada, also known as the Creaking Branch Cicada, in the true cicada family, Cicadettinae subfamily and Cicadettini tribe. It is endemic to Australia. It was described in 1904 by entomologists Frederic Webster Goding and Walter Wilson Froggatt. ^{[1] [2]}

Description

The length of the forewing is 27–35 mm. ^[3]

Distribution and habitat

The species is found in inland eastern Australia, from the vicinity of Townsville in North Queensland, south-westwards through central New South Wales to Victoria and the extreme south-east of South Australia. The associated habitat is woodland dominated by ironbark eucalypts, Casuarina pauper or Casuarina cristata (belah). ^{[2] [3]}

Behaviour

Adults may be heard from September to March, clinging to the upper branches of trees, uttering the songs which have been likened to the sounds made by the creaking of tree branches. ^[3]

References

1. Goding, FW; Froggatt, WW (1904). "Monograph of the Australian Cicadidae". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 29 (3): 561–670 [635].
2. "Species Auscala spinosa (Goding & Froggatt, 1904)". Australian Faunal Directory. Dept of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia. 2025. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
3. L.W. Popple (2025). "Creaking Branch Cicada Auscala spinosa (Goding and Froggatt, 1904)". A web guide to the cicadas of Australia. Popple Creative Industries. Retrieved 2025-09-25.