Rare Nanai Cicadas emerge after eight years

Eight years after their last appearance, Fiji’s endemic Nanai cicadas are emerging across Navosa, Namosi and Serua provinces, marking a rare natural phenomenon that occurs nowhere else in the world.

The periodical insects, which spend their entire eight-year lifecycle underground before emerging simultaneously to reproduce and die, began surfacing over the weekend in highland areas of Navosa.

Researcher Avengeleen Swamy, who is leading Fiji’s first comprehensive study of the Nanai at the Fiji National University (FNU), said the emergence fills her team with excitement after a year of anticipation.

Researcher Avengeleen Swamy is leading Fiji's first comprehensive study of the Nanai cicadas at the Fiji National University.

Supplied

“We’ve been all anticipating; the whole team has been anticipating the emergence,” Ms Swamy said yesterday.

“So now that I’ve seen the post and I can see that it’s coming up in the highlands; it’s giving me a sign of hope that this past year’s work will not go in vain.”

The Nanai cicadas is one of only nine periodical cicadas worldwide and the only one found in the Southern Hemisphere, making it globally significant for the scientific community.

Ms Swamy explained that this makes Fiji and the species itself globally important.

“Not only for national level or the southwest Pacific level, but globally,” Ms Swamy said.

The species holds deep cultural significance for local communities, who regard its emergence as a year of prosperity bringing wealth and good fortune.

This cultural importance is reflected in the Nanai’s prominent placement on Fiji’s $100 note.

“When the Nanai emerges, it is regarded as the year of prosperity,” Ms Swamy said.

“It brings wealth and good luck and good fortune to the iTaukei community.”

The insects are also consumed as a delicacy by locals when they emerge, providing a rich source of protein.

Ms Swamy stressed that more Fijians should recognise the Nanai’s importance beyond the three provinces where it emerges.

“This is something which is not only important for the people of Nadroga-Navosa and Serua or Namosi, but for the country,” she said.

Ms Swamy’s three-year research project, supported by an FNU scholarship, would produce the first scientific publication on the Nanai’s lifecycle and ecological significance.

The species last emerged in 2017, with the next emergence not expected until 2033.

Feedback: kaneta.naimatau@fijisun.com.fj