Booming symphony

THE quiet shuffling of tired feet headed up the trail on the last leg of Santubong Mountain’s aptly called Mountain Trail. It was longer than expected and the trekkers were tired. The eerily quiet jungle shrouded them as their thoughts were only of putting one foot in front of the other – left, right, left right …

The bird chatter of the early morning faded as the day heated up; rustling leaves stilled with the lack of wind. The living jungle was still. Waiting perhaps for the 6am cicada.

Then the late afternoon symphony of jungle sounds exploded through the silence. The tired walkers looked up, smiled and walked to the beat of the vibrating air – the pace increased, as did the energy.

The pulsing buzzing of the cicadas filled the forest enclosing all the occupants in its joyous call to life. Cicadas, fondly called buzz bugs, range around the world in all continents but Antarctica.

These insects, members of the order Hemiptera and super-family Cicadoidea, have 3,000 species in two families – Cicadidae and Tettigarctidae, which has only two members.

The enveloping buzzing of the male cicadas calling to the females radiated in all directions further hiding the well-camouflaged forest green or bark brown insects grasping to leaves and twigs. The trekkers examined the surrounding vegetation hoping to glance at this glorious insect, which has not only lent its music to the forest, but also played roles in myths since memory began.

Cicadas, depending on the species, have a lifespan from two to five years, but three Magicicada species can survive for about 17 years. The adults, referred to as imago, are generally two to five centimetres long, but some tropical species, for example the Pompona imperatoria, which is found in Malaysia, can reach gigantic proportions of up to 15 centimetres. These stout insects have three small eyes as well as large compound eyes on their broad heads. They have short antennae.

Cicadas are vegetarians, feeding on the dilute sap in the xylem (water-carrying cells) of plants. This differs from most other sap sucking insects, which draw nutrition from the phloem, the cells transporting food.

The male cicadas, one of the loudest insects in the world, produce their music through tymbals; thin membranes on either side of the abdomen.  The insects use muscles to flex the membranes and their bodies act like a resonating chamber. The tymbals also act as ears for both genders.

Females lay oval eggs in slits on twigs of tree or shrub species which, generally, that particular species feeds on. The egg nests are sometimes covered with foam, which hardens further protecting the eggs. When the eggs hatch, the nymphs drop to the ground and go underground. It is in this phase that the cicadas spend most of their lives.

The nymphs have conical heads and have fat segments. The larvae build cells to live in using the excess moisture which has been excreted. As they grow, the cicada nymphs follow the roots of the trees deeper into the ground. When the final instar is reached and the adult cicada is ready to emerge to the world above, they build waiting cells at the surface and the exit hole is at the base of the conical tower. These towers can sometimes be seen by observant hikers.

The long life cycles are thought to be a tactic to avoid predators which include praying mantises, killer wasps and insectivores as well as squirrels and birds. Cicadas are also eaten by people; they were considered a delicacy in ancient Greece and are eaten here in Malaysia, Latin America, China and Myanmar.

Cicadas have influenced man in other ways from Asia to Europe. For some they symbolise reincarnation as they emerge from life. In Japan they symbolise summer, for example movie scenes set in summer are often accompanied by cicada calls. For the Javanese, cicadas are associated with the dry season.

The call of the cicada that rings through the jungle, and sometimes in the cities, reminds us that nature is with us no matter how much we change the landscape.