Empty shell

Alien or cicada, or a bit of both?

This is an empty cicada shell (found clinging to one of my oak trees) The larvae must have crawled out of the ground a few days ago, up into the tree, where they molt, leaving behind their former shape. They erupt in a very alien-like way, splitting open the top of their head and body and emerge as beautiful green cicadas, ready to send my daughter crazy, with their evening cacophony (the tree is closest to her bedroom).

While I was running yesterday morning, I came across some noisy miner birds catching cicadas. Their tactic was to pull off one wing, leaving it unable to escape. A one winged cicada makes a very distinctive noise as it tries futilely to fly away.