![]() Fossilised versions date to more than 200 million years. Credit: Nathan EmeryĬicadas are a wonderfully diverse and ancient insect. ![]() What are cicadas, and why do they make such a racket? Why does it happen at dusk? And why only in summer?Ī Greengrocer cicada emerges from its shell. The song we hear at the height of summer is the cacophony of carnal festivities as the creatures go out with a bang. While they may evoke sweet associations for us, a cicada’s life is, in fact, one of solitary, years-long darkness punctuated by a sudden festival of sex. I used to catch them and bring the shells home and put them on the Christmas tree.” “It is just a normal part of the summer celebration, the soundtrack of summer,” says one of Australia’s few cicada experts, Professor David Emery. and then, towards the end of summer, the sound ends abruptly and the only evidence of it you can ever find is strange, brown shells that crumple to the touch. Some love the song, others hate it, but for many people, especially those with large backyards, it is ever-present during the warmer months, a sound that seems to come from an insect you can never find, no matter how much hunting you do. It is the background sound to sausages being turned on the barbecue, to kids splashing in the pool, to the crack and fizz of opening that first beer – the dull, drone song of the cicada. ![]() Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size ![]()
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