[Douglbirds] The clackers

[ouzels8]

Carolyne Parfit (and Urling) wondered what insect makes those clacking noises. 

Urling got a look at one and described it like this: clear wings, longer that extend beyond tail; brownish color; very wide head, with body tapering to narrow tail. Eyes stick out on either side of wide head.

I asked Dave Leatherman (entomologist recently retired from the State Forest Service, and he replied instantly:


Putnam's Cicada (Platypedia putnami).  The life cycle is poorly understood but is thought to take 3-5 years, with some hatch annually.  Adults cut slits in the branches of woody trees and shrubs (Gambel oak and mt.-mahogany are widely used) and lay eggs.  The hatching nymphs drop off the plant and develop in the soil feeding on the roots of various plants, probably mostly the woody plants in which the eggs are laid.  Adult hatches often occur following soaking rains.  

We have about 30 species of cicadas in CO, most of which make shrill buzzes of one sort or another.  The Putnam's is one of the few that clicks.  They have recently emerged along the Front Range and are evident (audibly, not so much visually).  They are one of the group with a mostly black and orange color scheme.

Mystery solved -- good luck in trying to see one as well as Urling saw hers.

Hugh Kingery
Franktown, CO 
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