The amazing world of insects / Cicadas; you'll hear them even if you can't see...
Insects are creatures that humans keep a distance from; some of us don't like them some even has a phobia against them entomophobia.
Yes, I know that just a small percentage of us like insects. No one likes to see a bug in their kitchen or their wall.But, we, the mammals aren't the only creatures that deserve to live in this World!
Getting to know these creatures that might be an indispensable part of natural life closer, might change our thoughts about them even if a little. That's why this series will be in the form of a short presentation of some İncredible insects.
Cicadas are on top of our list..
You are lucky if you still have surroundings of some trees and a little grass. In summer, even if you won't be able to see them you'd definitely hear their singing. Yes, I'm talking about cicadas which have more than 3000 species around the world.
Cicadas are a suborder of Auchenorrhyncha, a superfamily of Cicadoidea, and families of Cicadidae, that make sounds.
Cicadas which have transparent 2 pairs of wings are 2-5 cm in length. Although many people are mixing them with grasshoppers, they are a species more similar to butterflies.
Females leave their eggs inside holes in the bodies of trees. Then, young cicada nymphs that get out of their eggs start their underground lives digging the dirt where they have dropped on to.
Nymph and grown-up cicadas are not alike. Nymphs don't have wings and they live underground, in roots of plants for many years, they use plant juice as nutrition. Their underground life lasts for 2 years in some species, 13 in some others and in the longest case 17 years Magicicada septendecim
These cicadas which have Periodic life circle, nymphs which come out above ground after many years, climb up to trees, lose their shells, become a grown-up cicada and their short aboveground life begins in a summer day.
They spend this life which lasts for about a month by singing songs and trying to to find a mate..
Why do cicadas sing?
Male cicadas make the sound by vibrating the membrane(Tymbals) that's located below their abdomen. In measurements from 50cm away, it was noted that this sound could reach to levels of 105db in some species of cicada. It shouldn't be hard to make sounds while eating with this technique.
In female and in some species of male cicadas don't have tymbals and they make the sounds with their wings.
The general thought on this is that the males are making this sound to attract the female's attention and to mate. And females responding to males with their wings. Also, it's known that they make a sound in cases of an alert as an alarm. It's considered that cicadas make a different sound in each different situation. From thousands of cicadas, every species of cicada has unique specification like sound and behavior. The sound of a species is not similar to another.
Technology and cicadas
It is unthinkable that a natural sound generator this perfect would be left unnoticed by developers of technology.
American Navy has studied the cicadas on how they manage to make such a loud noise with such a small body using very little amount of energy. They analyzed the cicadas sound and will try to implement it on applications of underwater remote sensing, communication between ships, rescue operations and some other applications.
Biggest cicada Megapomponia imperatoria, living in Malaysia.
Longest life circle Magicicada septendecim seen in North America. 13*17 years life circle.
The noisiest: the Brevisana brevis seen in Africa. Recorded in 2001, 106,7db from a 50cm distance..
Cicadas have become the symbol of rebirth in some beliefs. In China, male cicadas were caught and caged for their songs. They were used as a symbol in many cultures.
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references
- http://ento.psu.edu
- https://www.britannica.com
- http://www.cicadamania.com/
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/
- Walker, T.J., ed. 2001. University of Florida Book of Insect Records, 2001. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
Awesome! Such a great article. Please consider writing under the steemiteducation tag as then it makes it easier for us to find your posts to upvote and resteem ;)
An informative and interesting post! Thanks @myego13
I like their singing on a warm summer evening, but I've also wished at times that they had and "on" and "off" switch -- I've heard some really loud one too :-)
Yes sometimes we really need to switch off😉 but when I empathize with them I understood that they have no more time, to find to their love😂
Short, concise and capturing. kudos