Like they do for us today, the cicadas’ hum also heralded the summer, especially the midday heat. Greek literature describes their call as “sweet”, such that a friendly cicada, legend says, once replaced the missing note when a string broke on a musician’s lyre. Shutterstockīoth societies loved the insects’ incessant call. ![]() For the Chinese, the “tchen” was noble, yet also humble.Ī nymph cicada that just emerged from its shell, which lies beside it. Both cultures admired them.įor the Greeks, the “tettix” was carefree and harmless. Photos from the field: zooming in on Australia's hidden world of exquisite mites, snails and beetlesįor the people of ancient Greece and China, cicadas were the focus of many beliefs that, despite the separation of East from West, were surprisingly similar. This is how both the nymphs and adult cicadas feed - the former feeds off the roots while the latter feeds from the trunk. This allows them to feed on sap by piercing the tree and drinking from the xylem (plant tissue that transports water and nutrients from roots to stems). Insects in the Hemiptera order, such as aphids, leafhoppers and bed bugs, alongside cicadas, are known for having sucking and piercing mouthparts. They belong to the superfamily called the Cicadoidea, which is part of a larger animal group - the order Hemiptera, or the “true bugs”. There are more than 3,200 cicada species scientifically described, and many more waiting to be discovered. After 17 years underground, cicada nymphs emerge in the billions | Planet Earth.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |