The Fijian Cicada (Raiateana knowlesi) is a periodic cicada that is endemic to the primeval forests on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji Islands.
Cicadas are grasshopper-like insects that occur on all continents. Well over 45,000 species have been described worldwide.
The cicadas are insects sucking on plants and as such belong to the Hemiptera, which also includes aphids and bugs.
The Fijian Cicada is a Periodic Cicada
Some types of cicadas are called periodic cicadas.
These are species that spend the most part of their life underground feeding on roots.
They will then morph into an adult, come onto the surface of the earth and start looking for a mate to reproduce as soon as possible.
The females then lay eggs in the bark of branches. Shortly afterward the adult animals die. After a few weeks, the larvae hatch, they fall to the ground, bury themselves and live underground. There they feed on plant juices from the roots of bushes and trees for a few years.
The Fijian Cicada lives 8 years as a larva in the ground, then morphs into an adult and a new generation of adult animals comes to light and lets the cycle start again.
More about the Fijian Cicada (Raiateana knowlesi):
https://naturefiji.org/fijian-cicada-raiateana-knowlesi-nanai/
