Cicadas make the news by appearing en mass following 17-years of underground absence but at first we, here in the Mid-Mississippi Valley, wondered why we weren't hearing them, given the loud noise for which they are known. The answer turns out to be that past cicadas we have known had a different sound than this year's batch. Well, it turns out there are over 3,000 species of them and they have their differences. Past cicadas of earlier experience had a mid-range buzzing dissonance that drowned out other sounds. This year's variety do the dissonant cacophony at a very high pitch which interferes with general audio perception.
The noise produced by cicadas is a defense system that keeps predators away by assaulting their ear drums. Despite this, we watched a flock of starlings working hard to stamp out the racket by holding a Memorial Day feast.
Before it all wraps up this makes an opportunity for radio stations to capture outdoor concert activity on a microphone to awaken listeners. This would be free content for jamming stations and stations operated by the deaf, which might include alternative and heavy metal formats.