Actually, my partner thought the neighbours had purchased a new generator when we stepped out to walk the dog a few weeks ago.

This species was a bit more blokey than the ones we are used to hearing. 

I greeted the disturbance as an opportunity to test out my new recording device.

I am sure our neighbours think I’m perfectly normal skulking around at night and sticking microphones into trees. Each cicada species has a unique call and this makes the recordings a handy tool to aid in identification.

I tracked the generator-like sound to its source and after staring at green foliage for several minutes, a large green bladder cicada materialised in front of me. He matched perfectly to the colour of the foliage in the tree.

Cicada spotting is very rewarding and if your kids like treasure hunts, there’s a free activity on every street.

The female cicadas lay their eggs into plant stems during summer. Wingless hatchling cicadas, known as nymphs, sky dive from the canopy to the ground where they bury down and spend most of their life underground.

They feed on root sap until they are ready to dig to the surface to mate.

Once emerged, the males alone make all the racket and the louder they are, the more irresistible.

They have large hollow abdomens that allow them to produce their advertisement call and this makes them easy to distinguish from the slender bodied females. Interested lady cicadas will approach a male and waft a perfume that she disperses by flicking her wings. 

There are over 200 different species of cicada in Australia and they can obtain high densities.

They make a delicious treat to any beady-eyed bird, bat or carnivorous marsupial that is lucky enough to catch one for dinner.

Cicadas contribute to our environment as engineers digging burrows through the soil, as plant pruners when they eat vegetation, and as prey in the food web of other important creatures.

They are part of a group of insects called “True bugs’ which also includes stink bugs and aphids. Scientists are reporting insects declines around the world.

You can help collect data by listening out for our cicada friends around you and adding your observations to citizen science programs like ‘Wildlife Spotter’ to monitor these fantastic beasts.