They may be small creatures but their collective calls sure can pack a punch.
The annual appearance of the bug-eyed, big-winged insect called a cicada is synonymous with summertime, as is their distinctly noisy buzz that fills the air this time of year.
Similarly to the way birds and frogs sing to find spring mates, male cicadas sing to attract females — and in large-enough groups their droning can become as loud as a motorcycle, according to the Detroit International Wildlife Refuge which posted about the boisterous bugs this week on its Facebook page.
You’ll likely hear their distinctive sound coming from the treetops, where the harmless cicadas hang out for a few short weeks each summer, not even eating, just mating and laying their eggs.
Prior to that, however, these insects can spend a few years to more than a decade quietly existing below ground as nymphs, eventually emerging in predictable, sometimes impressive cycles — such as last summer’s massive Brood X emergence, which made headlines as billions of cicadas created an unforgettable din across much of the eastern U.S.
So how does an insect that’s smaller than your thumb make such an enormous sound? The answer is in special organs called tymbals, which sit on either side of a cicada’s abdomen and can be vibrated through muscle contractions to produce sound.
Researchers have found that many cicadas’ tymbals firing at the same time can create a noise reaching nearly 100 decibles: equal to using a lawnmower, snowmobile, or, yes, a motorcycle.
Whether you find that sound to be irrirating or an irreplaceable contribution to the season’s soundtrack, know that cicadas are a normal part of summer.
For more nature updates, follow the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge on Facebook.
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