how do cicadas make noise

Cicadas make noise using a special organ called a tymbal, which is found on the abdomen of male cicadas. The tymbal contains a series of ribs that buckle one after the other when the cicada flexes its muscles. Each rib buckle produces a clicking sound. When these clicks happen rapidly—between 120 to 480 times per second—they blend together to create a continuous buzzing or droning sound that can be very loud, sometimes over 100 decibels. This mechanism is quite different from how crickets produce sound (which involves rubbing wings together). The cicada's hollow body acts as a resonating chamber to amplify the sound. Male cicadas primarily make this noise as a mating call to attract females and establish territory. Different species have distinct sounds and patterns, which help them recognize each other. The sound is often described as the loudest insect sound, comparable to the noise of a chainsaw or jet engine in some cases. The noise is created by the rapid contraction and relaxation of muscles attached to the tymbal, causing it to buckle and spring back, producing the characteristic clicks that form the cicada's song. In summary, cicadas make noise by rapidly flexing muscles to buckle the ribs on their tymbal organs, producing loud clicking sounds that combine into a buzzing noise amplified by their hollow bodies.