Thopha saccata
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Thopha saccata, the double drummer, is the largest Australian species of cicada and reputedly the loudest insect in the world. Documented by the Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1803, it was the first described and named cicada native to Australia. Its common name comes from the large dark red-brown sac-like pockets that the adult male has on each side of its abdomen—the "double drums"—that are used to amplify the sound it produces.
Broad-headed compared with other cicadas, the double drummer is mostly brown with a black pattern across the back of its thorax, and has red-brown and black underparts. The sexes are similar in appearance, though the female lacks the male's tymbals and sac-like covers. Found in sclerophyll forest in Queensland and New South Wales, adult double drummers generally perch high in the branches of large eucalypts. They emerge from the ground where they have spent several years as nymphs from November until March, and live for another four to five weeks. They appear in great numbers in some years, yet are absent in others.
Danish naturalist Johan Christian Fabricius described the double drummer as Tettigonia saccata in 1803, the first... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Double Drummer sighting in Royal National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 70th most-seen of the 175 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Double Drummer in Royal National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, April and June–September, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Double Drummer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Eastern Double Drummer sightings, Royal National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Booderee National Park (Australia, about 20%) and Blue Mountains National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Cicadidae
The closest relatives of the Eastern Double Drummer that you can see in Royal National Park (family Cicadidae, Typical Cicadas) are Razor Grinder (about 30%), Redeye Cicada (about 20%) and Black Prince (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Double Drummer is recorded against all the insects logged in Royal National Park (16 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.
