The 'Song' of the Cicadas in Provence

It's possible to drive for hundreds of miles in Provence, all the time hearing the 'song' of the cicadas, insects which make a loud sound produced from their tymbals, or abdominal membranes. It's very difficult to describe the sound, although I'd call it a mixture between a bird song and a kind of gentle metallic sawing noise. But 'noise' is a bad expression for a sound that lulls, soothes, calms, delights, and we're really gonna miss this when we leave Provence in a few days' time. Above is a cicada I noticed which has 'hatched' from its shell and finally made it overground. Cicadas, by the way, are completely harmless and really nice to know, although you usually only hear them rather than see them.

The skin, or nymph shell, of the same cicada in its original position, clinging to the bark.