by Kurt Zuelsdorf

The approaching full moon pulled me out of bed long before daylight streaked the surface of a choppy bay off Shell Island Preserve near St Petersburg Florida. From my kayak it was clear to me that noise pollution had built up in my ears as all I could hear was the distant traffic crossing the Skyway bridge. Then, like an inner ear plane flight pop - all was clear.

No less then a mile from Ft Desoto’s dense foliage I could here them, ratcheting and buzzing to one another. Sister Island’s swarm chimed in and the Cabbage Key  crowd raised the decibel level above any traffic noise! Why, just this morning I found the molted shell of a huge fly-like creature crimped on the side of my truck tire… they’re everywhere!  All day and into the night the male singers flex their abdomen belly muscles against a rib membrane and with the help of a hollow tummy to amplify  the sound our Cicada is the loudest insect on the planet!  

“There are some that are basically as loud as a jet engine taking off,” said Jeff Cole, a Ph.D. candidate at Kansas University’s ecology and evolutionary biology department. “The loudest species can get up to 120 decibels, which is about the pain threshold of human ears.”

So if the latestFull Moon doesn’t have you stirring in your sleep you won’t be alone, the song of the Summer Cicada will keep playing over, and over, and over again…can you hear it now?

1. Faith Hoogs Says:
   July 21st, 2009 at 10:45 am

   Hi Kurt, Great photo of the Cicada. Always wondered what they looked like. They are really loud here at the lake. I always loved hearing them.