Cicadas

mickysf
mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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edited July 2019 in Wildlife, Nature & the Great Outdoors #1

Following on from the thread about glow worms has anyone seen/heard our native cicadas? A few years ago I heard cicadas close to Manchester airport. The suggestion was they had travelled in on planes form main land Europe . These however were not our native species but the thought was that with climate change these could establish populations over here! 

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  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2019 #2

    Grasshoppers yes, non native Cicadas no, not a fan of their night time noise! wink

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2019 #3

    I love the sound of those abroad but according to the entomologists our native ones 'perform' just above the normal adult human hearing frequency. Apparently they are so few in number the search is now on to establish their current numbers which may be significantly low if not close to extinction.frown

  • chasncath
    chasncath Forum Participant Posts: 1,659
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    edited July 2019 #4

    We have a brifghly coloured 'Cigale', bought on the Cote d'Azur, who when his button is pressed makes that lovely summer evening sound. They make their sound by vibrating their bodies, unlike grasshoppers who rub their legs together.

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2019 #5

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34956063

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited July 2019 #6

    In my experience cicadas are quiet when the weather is cooler and there is no sun. Given the UK's "usual" climate, I would imagine any native species would have taken a vow of silence.

  • ABM
    ABM Forum Participant Posts: 14,578
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    edited August 2019 #7

    I prefer the variety that only emerges every 15 or 17 years -- and that's my noise level tolerance  wink

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