Psaltoda plaga
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Psaltoda plaga is a species of cicada native to eastern Australia, from Maryborough in central Queensland to Bega in southern New South Wales. Adult cicadas appear over the summer and inhabit forested areas near bodies of water. The predominantly black form from the Sydney and Central Coast regions is commonly known as the black prince, while the term silver knight is used for the species as a whole.
The black prince was originally described by German naturalist Ernst Friedrich Germar in 1834 as Cicada argentata, the species name derived from the Latin argentum "silver". Swedish entomologist Carl Stål defined the new genus Psaltoda in 1861 with three species, including the black prince as Psaltoda argentata. Meanwhile, English entomologist Francis Walker described Cicada plaga in 1850 as well as querying further specimens as Cicada argentata. He noted in 1858 that the binomial Cicada argentata had been used by a European species, and declared that Germar's cicada needed a new name. The older combination was ruled invalid as the binomial name Cicada argentata had been originally used for a European cicada now known as Cicadetta argentata, and the black prince became Psaltoda... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Prince sighting in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 66 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 38th most-seen of the 789 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Black Prince in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to September, the lowest months. That is one of Blue Mountains National Park's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain against 40 mm in May.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Prince sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Black Prince sightings, Blue Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Royal National Park (Australia, about 20%).
Same genus: Psaltoda
The closest relatives of the Black Prince that you can see in Blue Mountains National Park (genus Psaltoda, Knights, sages, barons, Black Prince, Redeye) are Redeye Cicada (about 20%) and Yellowbelly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Prince is recorded against all the insects logged in Blue Mountains National Park (66 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
