Male cicadas produce a loud sound to attract females.Male cicadas produce a loud sound to attract females.

Insects, despite their small size, can produce surprisingly loud sounds.

At this time of the year the most notable insect sound is the loud buzzing made by the cicada which can be heard throughout the day and occasionally at night.

The cicada got its name from a Latin word meaning ‘buzzer’.

The species found in the Maltese islands, Cicada orni, is found in southern and central Europe, North Africa and the Near East. In Maltese the cicada is known as werżieq ta’ binhar.

The loud sound is made by male cicadas to attract females. Sometimes several males sing from the same branch, resulting in an even louder noise and a higher probability of attracting a female from afar.

The noise is made by clicking a structure known as a tymbal. The tymbals are found on each side of the abdomen. They consist of a membrane which forms part of the exoskeleton. The membrane is attached to a muscle which can contract rapidly to pull it inwards. With each contraction the membrane makes a noise which is repeated when the muscle relaxes and the membrane goes back to its original position.

At this time of the year the most notable insect sound is the loud buzzing made by the cicada

The clicking is so rapid that the sound is heard as a continuous buzz which is amplified in the abdomen which in males is largely hollow and acts as a sound box.

Crickets are also known for their singing. Several species can be found in the Maltese islands, but telling species apart by their sound is not easy for a beginner.

Crickets make sound by rubbing the edges of two wings together, a mechanism known as stridulation.

Some species of insect make sound by means of percussion, hitting one part of the body against another. This mode of sound production is found in a small number of insects particularly some Australian moths and some species of termites. No Maltese insect is known to use percussion.

An unusual and rare mechanism is air expulsion. In spite of its rarity, one moth found in Malta, the death’s head hawk moth (baħrija ras ta’ mewt), can make a distinctive piping sound which probably is a defence mechanism. Any predator attempting to catch this hawk moth would get such a fright that it would immediately release it.

portelli.paul@gmail.com

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