Insect Invasion

I grew up in Tucson, Arizona among Cicadas and Crickets making all kinds of noise but THIS! this noise in Japan is bordering on ridiculous.  I’m told these are Cicadas as well but I’m pretty sure the Japanese variety have megaphones.  Some sound like normal Cicada noise just amplified.  Others sound like a cackling old witch and some almost have the beginnings of a song..screamo genre.

I don’t know if there are other insects helping this one along but these things have a corner on the noise market here in Japan.  Now, they don’t keep me awake at night and so far they aren’t really annoying me too much but then it’s only just begun.  Right now I’m actually enjoying the different sounds on my walk to work every morning.   There is one that sounds like an alarm going off, I had to pause when I heard it, to make sure it was a bug and not a real alarm.  It’s that loud.

Interestingly enough, I haven’t heard the Crows and Seahawks lately.  I wonder if they just feel out classed in the noise arena when the Cicadas wake up every summer. Or perhaps it’s like a tag team situation.  The Cicada comes out and tags the Crow and Seahawk to take over for the summer and the Crow and Seahawk get to go on holiday to rest up their vocal chords (yeh I know they probably don’t have vocal chords) then come winter they tag back in again and the Cicada goes to hibernate or whatever it is they do when they have holiday.   Florida keys with a margarita and a surf board maybe?

Here is a video about the life span of a Cicada, I found it rather interesting.  They stay underground for 17 years!

Video on youtube by http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICDdTBgqYt0 missie kissie – just making sure she gets credit for it. =)