They're Baaaack!

Cicadae emit one of the most distinct sounds ever. It’s call makes this reverberating noise that's hard to describe and even harder to re-create. When I was a kid I thought it was the telephone wires. It is always exciting when they hatch. The song of the cicada is the sound of summer to me, similar to the sound of sough in the fall. They can make their sounds up to 100 decibels, equivalent to the sound of a lawnmower, dirt bike, or tractor, according to The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. A team of U.S. Naval researchers demystified the source of their soun: "Their analysis shows that the insects manage to produce their incredibly large sound because they have a unique anatomy that combines a ribbed membrane on the torso that vibrates when they deform their bodies." I still don’t get it. Not really a song at all. This one in Keith’s photo is newly hatched. I welcome it with open ears all the same!