2nd July 2021
Cicadas like the heat and they like trees. There is a lot of heat in the summer in Japan and there are lots of trees in Japan, so a lot of places for cicadas to make noises in! The noise the cicadas make from July to the end of September feels the same every year. Some other countries have big differences in cicada numbers each year but it’s not like that in Japan.
Most cicadas in Japan spend about two or three years underground as larvae, before coming out of the ground and climbing the trees above where they have been in the ground. They change into their adult shape in about two hours on the trees.
Cicadas are noisier during the daytime when it’s too hot for the creatures that like to eat them to be out in the sun, such as crows. Recently, perhaps due to higher temperatures and bright, night lights changing the cicadas’ behaviour, some places have cicadas making a noise into the night.
There is not the custom to eat cicadas in Japan. Some children catch them and take them home but they die quickly.
They are very camouflaged on the trees and you will probably only see them when they are flying near you or when they are dying on the ground after only a few weeks as an adult. They are not very good at flying and may fly into you if you are unlucky but they won’t want to harm you even although they will frighten you!
■ Are the numbers of cicadas the same every year?
■ Do they cause trouble?
■ Do they come into homes?
■ Do you like the sound of cicadas?
■ Have you ever eaten a cicada?