CICADA
During the summer, the sound of Kefalonia is the cicada. They can sing from morning to night but are heard mostly during the hottest part of the day. It is the males who are making all the noise, hoping to lure a female for a bit of courtship. They can be from 20mm to 50mm in length and have large membranous wings. They have prominent compound eyes which are set wide apart on their heads. Females can be distinguished by the large saw edged ovipositor which it uses to lay eggs in cracks in tree bark.
The sound made by the males is produced in their hollow abdomens which act as sound chambers. A special structure called a tymbal is buckled and unbuckled using large muscles and this produces the sound. They turn their ears off whilst calling for the females as otherwise they would go deaf. Also in some species, the wings are rubbed quickly over ridges on their backs. Cicadas live from 2 to 5 years, but the majority of that time is spent in the soil as nymphs. When they moult and emerge as adults, they only survive for another 2 to 3 weeks. They drink sap from trees and bushes.
