Cicadas: songs of love

3 years ago
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A sultry afternoon, a shivering haze, and sun-scorched plants eagerly awaiting rain. Above the heated earth with electric staccato sounds the song of an insect whose long life has come to an end. This hymn is both a praise of the sun, and a funeral lament, and a hymn of love.

Cicadas. These winged heralds of drought are much easier to hear than to see. As live musicians they play in the Black Sea resorts, Italy, Spain, Greece. Wherever the sun is scorching hot, you'll hear their many-voiced, ear-piercing chirping. Some species are so loud that their concert can be heard 800 meters away!

The singing apparatus of the cicada is a separate, complicated organ consisting of many parts such as interconnected lids, membranes, membranes, and tendons. In essence, the cicada is a living guitar.

But why do cicadas choose to crackle at noon when all living things retreat into the shade? The reason is that they feed on tree sap. This food is not very caloric, because our characters would simply lack energy for singing and flying under such a diet. Therefore, the insects, being cold-blooded, use the sun's energy to the maximum. By the way, in search of nectar, the cicada holes through the wood with its thick and strong proboscis.

This string-and-breath orchestra of adult insects doesn’t live long: from a couple of weeks to two months. But cicada larvae develop (depending on the species) for exactly 7, 13 and 17 years. Neither a year earlier, nor a year later.

Listen to the songs of these unusual singers and you will surely get a real pleasure. Many scientists claim that the sounds of their "songs" have a beneficial effect on our bodies.
Rest, enjoy and be healthy!

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