Jun 24, 2026 · 12 min · 12 segments
A loud noise in the savannah – and why you almost never see it. A sound you recognize instantly—but can hardly place. It's loud, piercing, and seems to come from all directions at once. And yet, its…
Right at the start, I'll give you three facts about cicadas, and I promise you, after that, you'll hear their buzzing with different ears.
First, some species of cicadas produce sound levels of over 100 decibels at close range.
That's louder than a jackhammer.
It's important to know only the males produce this sound.
Second fact, this sound doesn't come from the wings but from the abdomen.
It's a single resonating chamber.
And third, most cicada species spend their entire youth underground, completely invisible to us, and they do so for many years.
Let's get straight to the details.
It is perfectly camouflaged.
The color of its body usually matches exactly the bark it sits on, brown, gray, sometimes slightly patterned.
It almost blends in with its surroundings.
Often, you stand right in front of it and still don't see it.
It has transparent, very finely veined wings.
They lie flat against its body, and it actually has a rather broad, almost massive head with large, round, bulging eyes.
At first glance, it looks a bit like a large fly.
But biologically, cicadas have nothing to do with flies.
They belong to the same group as aphids or true bugs.
Right at the start, I'll give you three facts about cicadas, and I promise you, after that, you'll hear their buzzing with different ears.
First, some species of cicadas produce sound levels of over 100 decibels at close range.
That's louder than a jackhammer.
It's important to know only the males produce this sound.
Second fact, this sound doesn't come from the wings but from the abdomen.
It's a single resonating chamber.
And third, most cicada species spend their entire youth underground, completely invisible to us, and they do so for many years.
Let's get straight to the details.
It is perfectly camouflaged.
The color of its body usually matches exactly the bark it sits on, brown, gray, sometimes slightly patterned.
It almost blends in with its surroundings.
Often, you stand right in front of it and still don't see it.
It has transparent, very finely veined wings.
They lie flat against its body, and it actually has a rather broad, almost massive head with large, round, bulging eyes.
At first glance, it looks a bit like a large fly.
But biologically, cicadas have nothing to do with flies.
They belong to the same group as aphids or true bugs.
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