Valeria Richards May, Jacob Dwight's grandmother, died in the early morning hours of April 29th in Alabama. That day too, she heard the cicadas singing near her home, which comforted her.
“I don't know if they were out a few nights ago,” he said. “I didn't hear it the night before.”
Dwight said in an interview Wednesday that he was moved by the sound, which he described as something like a ray gun in a science fiction movie or the sound of thin metal sheets rippling. “It's just like when you lose a loved one, people tend to have magical experiences, or at least imbue things in nature with something like the spirit of the loved one,” Drone said at her funeral. The next day, he continued recording cicada songs.
This spring, in a rare phenomenon in which two swarms of cicadas emerged at the same time, making a noise as loud as an airplane, Americans felt a sense of connection to nature, listening to their songs in their backyards or He is happy to cover his ears.
Some people find buzzing, chirping, and trilling pleasant or stimulating, while others find insects annoying or irritating. In one South Carolina county, residents even reported strange roaring noises to the sheriff's office.
“The periodic chirps of cicadas are magical,” says Will Hershberger, co-author of the book “Insect Songs.” “The cicada call is only heard when they emerge, and it is clearly different from the calls of other annual cicadas that we can hear every year.”
This year, this trend is even stronger as the two litters overlap slightly. “In some places, songs from 13 years ago and songs from his 17 years ago uniquely blend together to create a truly extraordinary aural experience,” he said.
Hershberger said there are three species of the 17-year cicada known as Brood XIII, each with a unique and appealing call.
The most abundant one is probably Magicicada septendecim, he said. Hmm song. “This species also has a unique mating song,” Hershberger said. “These frenetic, energetic songs seem to be preferred by females.”
There is also M. septendecula, which communicates with a “very unique” song that is “a series of high-pitched buzzing sounds that become faster and then end with a series of chirping-like sounds.” Then there's Cassini (M. cassini). The sound is an upward buzzing sound.
John R. Cooley, a biology professor at the University of Connecticut, said some of the calls of this year's most widespread 13-year cicada species, Brood XIX, are similar to those of the 17-year cicada.
In general, the song of Magicicada tredecula species is a rhythmic frequency sweep, while the song of Magicicada tredecassini species is a series of ticks followed by a frequency sweep, Professor Cooley said. He also noted that species can be active at different times of the day.
According to Hershberger, male cicadas typically call to mate using a special organ called a tymbal (while female cicadas respond by flapping their wings). It has a cover that looks like a drum head, one on each side. Anterior abdomen. Male cicadas use their strong muscles to pull the cicada in, causing the membrane to collapse along the ridge and make a sound.
Hershberger said cicadas are the loudest singing insects on Earth, noting that “individuals can produce sounds in the 90 decibel range, which is as loud as a jet engine.”
“If I was going to approach a male chorus in the middle of a song, I would wear earplugs to protect my hearing,” Hershberger said.
In Cicadas 2024, a public Facebook group with more than 10,000 members, users commented on the humming roar, describing it as either endearing or deafening.
The periodic chirping of cicadas is nothing new, and their sound has long inspired artists and musicians.
Dwight, a painter and artist who uses sound elements in his work, is wondering how to utilize recordings of Alabama cicadas. He considers himself “a naturalist who aims to bring out the magic of the natural experience.”
He imagines that everything he creates will be “on the poetic and sad side.”
The emergence of Brood X in 1970 inspired Bob Dylan's “Day of the Locust,” in which he wrote, “The locusts sang such a sweet melody.” In 2021, pop star Lorde said in an interview with Apple Music that he recorded cicadas to capture the New Zealand summer vibe in his song “Solar Power.”
Some people find the buzzing sound meditative.
Meditation apps like Insight Timer, a popular free meditation app that has been downloaded 28 million times, use recorded cicada sounds to help people connect with nature. There are 19 tracks in Insight Timer's meditation and sound library that feature cicada sounds, said Maddie Gerrard, the app's editor-in-chief.
Jonathan Adams, a musician known as Sonic Yogi who records therapeutic music and meditations, says in an email that he uses bird and insect sounds in his meditation audio “to signal the cycles of the day and the different seasons.” said.
“These naturally indicate changes in energy during the day and help us understand our internal rhythms,” he said.
But it's not all about singing and sound bathing. Red-eyed insects can be very annoying to some people.
In South Carolina, the Newberry County Sheriff's Office posted a notice on social media after several residents complained of “noises in the air, such as sirens, wails, or roars.”
“The sound is the sound of cicadas,” the sheriff's office said, adding, “While some people may find the noise disturbing, it does not pose a danger to humans or pets.” Unfortunately, it's the sound of nature. ”
Derek Kincaid, chief meteorologist for the ABC affiliate in Columbus, Georgia, took to his Facebook page to urge people to stop calling police about cicadas.
“Since winter until now, we've done 100 articles and posts about this insect,” he said. “It's the same with other news sources. It's a bug. Sound is a bug, too.”
For some people, the sound can be overly stimulating. Neurodiverse children and adults, including those with autism, may find the incessant chirping of cicadas less like a summer sound and more like a waking nightmare.
Dr. Nathan Carroll, associate chief psychiatrist at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, said people with reduced tolerance to sound, also known as hyperacusis, can be overwhelmed by constant trills. .
Dr. Carroll said that of the approximately 5.5 million people with autism in the United States, it is estimated that 60 to 90 percent have hyperacusis. To help people who are experiencing discomfort, he suggested bringing them indoors and allowing them to drown out the noise with a TV or use earplugs or headphones. “Don’t take it lightly,” he said. “Please verify as much as possible.”
If you are not hearing sensitive, please remember that there are still several weeks left in this rare situation. double appearance.
If you can, Hershberger recommends, “relax, listen, and enjoy this precious sonic treasure.”