MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The buzzing and ringing of thousands of cicadas filled one Raleigh-Millington neighborhood Thursday.
“It’s definitely deafening, “Lynn Johnston said.
She told WREG the sound the creatures made was like nothing else.
She found them fascinating, even studying the creatures.
“Sometimes it sounds like a motor that’s going 10,000 RPMs a minute,” said Johnston.
It wasn’t hard to find them.
Cicadas feed on trees and begin their lifecycle in the ground, feeding off the liquid from plant roots.
The sound is given off by males wanting to attract females, and the deafening hum rises with the heat.
“This is the first year I’ve heard it,” said Charles Parnell.
He said he didn’t share Johnston’s fascination.
“It irritates my ears,” he explained.
The good news is Cicada season is almost over and it will be 13 years until we have to deal with them again.
