MENU

• A year in soubes
• Pricing Policy
• Insects and creepy crawlies

MEMBER AREA

Login: Password:

Forgot Password
Sign Up
Post Classified Ads

CURRENCY

LINKS

• British Embassy in France
• French cheeses
• French motorways & webcams
• French news from TF1
• French Public service forms
• French traffic information
• French weather forcast
• List of all airports in France
• Mont Agoual (34)
• Montpellier tourist office
• Route planner
• Tour de France 2010
• Tourist offices in France
• Web cam viaduct de Millau
• Web Cam Paris
• Our Privacy Policy
• Our pricing policy
• Our termes & Conditions

Insects and creepy crawlies

You may have been wondering what the noise is when on holiday in the South of France during the summer month, well wonder no more. The noise is made by the cegale commonly known as the Cicada.

Cicadas begin life as small egg, like a grain of rice, which the female deposits in a groove she makes in a tree limb. The groove provides shelter and exposes the tree fluids, which the young cicadas can feed on.

Once the egg hatches the cicada begins to feed on the tree fluids. At this point it looks like a termite or small white ant. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig until it finds a root to feed on. Once a root is found the cicada will stay underground for up to 17 years depending on the species.

After the long 17 years the cicadas emerge from the ground as nymphs, they climb the nearest available tree, and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. Free of their old skin, their wings can inflate and their new skin can harden. Once their new wings and body are ready, they can begin their brief adult life.

Press play button to view video