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Cicadas are as much a part of summer in Provence as the blooming lavender fields
Photo: imago stock&people / Nature Picture Library
Blooming lavender fields, lush vineyards, impressive fortresses - Provence attracts millions of tourists every year.
Inextricably linked to summer in southern France: the cicadas.
Or rather: her singing.
Every holidaymaker in Provence knows this sound, which has played an important role in mythology, art and folklore in southern France for thousands of years as an expression of the light, Mediterranean attitude to life.
And yet not every guest is a fan of it.
The mayor of the village of Le Beausset, for example, reported in 2018 that tourists were annoyed, some of whom even asked him to use chemical clubs against the animals.
Which he rejected as “completely crazy”.
Four years later, the cicadas of Provence seem to be becoming increasingly silent.
The current heat wave with record temperatures is causing problems for the insects.
»We have observed that the cicadas almost never sing in the afternoon when the temperature in the shade exceeds 36 degrees.
It's too hot for them," agricultural expert Serge Zaka told France 3 television: "Because of the heat, they can no longer regulate their temperature and therefore no longer sing."
There are an estimated 45,000 cicada species worldwide;
the cicada in Provence is one of the noisiest insects in the world, chirping at a volume of more than 100 decibels.
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