This thread has dual purpose. To share stories and links about the 蝉( せみ ) in Japanese culture and art, and also to celebrate the return of Brood X in Eastern North America.
Lets use our excitement about Brood X to learn more about 蝉( せみ ) in Japan!
セミ（蟬・蝉）は、カメムシ目（半翅目）・頸吻亜目・セミ上科（Cicadoidea）に分類される昆虫の総称。「鳴く昆虫」の一つとして知られる。
熱帯や亜熱帯の森林地帯に分布の中心を持つが、亜寒帯の森林、あるいは草原に分布するものもいる。約3,000種が知られ、テイオウゼミのような翅端までが130mmくらいの巨大なものから、イワサキクサゼミのように20mm程度のものまでいる。
成虫の体は前後に細長い筒型で、頑丈な脚、長い口吻、発達した翅などが特徴である。一方、触角は短い毛髪状であまり目立たない。翅は前翅が大きく、休息する際は体の上面に屋根状にたたむ。前翅後縁と後翅前縁は鉤状に湾曲していて、飛翔する際はこの鉤状部で前後の翅を連結して羽ばたく。一般に飛翔能力は高く、羽音を立てながらかなりの速度で飛ぶ。一方で止まれそうだと判断した場所に手あたり次第に突進する習性があるため、壁や枝にぶつかりながら飛翔することも多い。
オス成虫の腹腔内には音を出す発音筋と発音膜、音を大きくする共鳴室、腹弁などの発音器官が発達し、鳴いてメスを呼ぶ。発音筋は秒間2万回振動して発音を実現するとされる。また、外敵に捕獲...
From classic literature to anime, seasonal insects have special place in country’s culture
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T. j. ishigakiana Distant, 1892T. j. japonensis Kato, 1960
Tanna japonensis, also called the evening cicada or higurashi (Japanese: 蜩, 茅蜩, ひぐらし), is a species of cicada, a family of insects, and a member of the genus Tanna. It is distributed throughout East Asia, and is most common in Japan. Its shrill call can be heard most often in the morning and evening.
Its kanji name is derived from the character for Miscanthus, a type of reed that it inhabits. In Japan, it is also known as kanakana (カナ...
The cicadas (/sɪˈkɑːdə/ or /sɪˈkeɪdə/) are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha,[a] along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two families, Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world; many species remain undescribed.
Cicadas have prominent eyes set wide apart, short antennae...
Cicada Mania is dedicated to teaching you about cicada insects, their life cycle & life span, how they make their sound, what they eat and what eats them, and when they'll next arrive.
Post your own pictures of Brood X in your area below, as well as things that you learn about Japanese cicadas. Be quick! They don’t stay around for long. They just started emerging in Reading PA on May 16. Within weeks they will be dead, and by August their nymphs will hatch and crawl back underground until 2038.
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閑さや岩にしみ入る蝉の声
石走る瀧もとどろに鳴く蝉の声をし聞けば都し思ほゆ
Finally some photos.
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