Whats all the noise?

If you have been out and about into any wooded areas, you will be sure to have heard a lot of noise coming from the trees, and wondered what on earth it is. The sound is similar to that made by the grasshopper, but sounds much louder.
In fact the insect that makes the sound, is some times referred to as the tree cricket. It is similar to the grasshopper except they tend to fly, all be it rather badly, (they are always bumping into each other or things!), rather than jump. The insect is a Cicada, commonly known in Greece as a "chich chich", after the sound it makes by vibrating the rear part of the body.
The Cicada's life cycle is surprisingly long. After the adults mate the female lays her eggs in small twigs in a tree. When the twigs fall from the trees, the eggs drop into the soil where they remain for some 13 to 17 years before they hatch.
Cicadas are not easy to find, they are well camouflaged, and will stop making noise as soon as you approach the tree they are in. However, you may be able to find an empty skin shed by a growing insect. Their working day is long, as you can normally hear them from sunrise to sunset, any time from June to September. You know it is truly Summer when they day is filled with this background noise, and it is a little sad when the last one stops for the Winter, but just like Summer, they will be back next year, and who can blame them for the noise after spending 17 years underground!