Northern Dog-Day Cicada

Fascinating facts about the Northern Dog-Day Cicada

• The cicada's song is a loud, high-pitched whine that sounds like a power saw cutting wood. It carries on for several seconds before fading away at the end of the noise. This distinctive call can be heard echoing through the mixed and deciduous woodlands where the species lives, filling the hot summer air with its unmistakable tone.
• Green veins thread through the cicada's wings, creating a striking pattern that is most vivid near the wing base. These veins are especially noticeable in that area, giving the otherwise dark wings a flash of colour. The wing size can reach a span of 82 mm, allowing the intricate venation to be clearly seen when the insect is in flight.
• The name "dog-day" refers to the insect's association with the hot, humid days of summer. This link to the dog days of summer is reflected in its common names such as dog-day cicada and heatbug. The species is most often encountered during those sweltering periods, when its loud song and bright wing markings become a familiar part of the seasonal soundscape.
• The dog-day cicada prefers mixed and deciduous woodlands that stretch from Canada down through the central and eastern United States. Within this broad swath it also occupies the Great Plains, the Midwestern states, the Great Lakes region and the New England area.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Northern Dog-Day Cicada

In the sweltering heat of a summer's day, the Northern Dog-Day Cicada emerges, its tawny wings beating in a slow, languid rhythm as it rises from the verdant underbrush to claim its place in the sun-drenched canopy above. With a call that is at once a primal scream and a haunting melody, this cicada weaves its song into the fabric of the forest, a mesmerizing serenade that echoes through the trees as it moves with deliberate, almost sensual, abandon. As it sings, its very existence seems to embody the languorous, sun-kissed essence of a long, lazy summer's day.

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