What has two big, prominent eyes which are set wide apart, a pair of short antennae and membranous wings? The fly? Not quite. This one is quite big and has a corrugated exoskeletal structure called tymbal which when buckle and unbuckle rapidly, acts like a drum, producing a loud sound which when we, as children, found delights in. I remember in the late 60s and early 70s when computer games were not in fashion, my siblings used to enjoy playing with cicadas which found their way into our home. One just has to press the insect and it would start to hum loudly like nobody business! Those days, there used to be so many cicadas. A brother who went to stay with a relative in Taiping even came back with a box full of them. For many years now, I haven't seen a cicada. This one which is not black but green and of a smaller variety ; I found it on the toilet floor, dead.
Comments