Deafeningly loud? Yes, but cicadas no threat to vegetables, flowers or fruit

These creatures are the loudest of all insects. Their sound can reach 109 decibels, which is as loud as a car radio on full volume.

The noise they make is actually a mating call. Each of the 1300 species worldwide has a unique call that only attracts those of its kind. The males are the only singers.

Cicadas are found in Australia, New Zealand, North America, south-east Asia and China. The world's largest cicada is south-east Asia’s Empress, which has a body length of approximately eight centimetres and a wingspan of  20 centimetres.

The Empress is endemic to South East Asia. There have been a few cicadas reported in Europe, but only one recorded sighting in the United Kingdom.

Over the years cicadas have collected a most remarkable selection of common names, some based on the sounds they make and some describing their colours.

All Australians will be familiar with our most common cicadas - the Black Prince, the Yellow Munday, and the Greengrocer, but are you familiar with other names which have been bestowed on our cicadas over the years?

Some of these include Brown Bunyip, Tiger Prince, Creaky Branch, Typewriter, Fence Buzzer, Cherrynose, Alarm Clock Squeaker, Sandgrinder, Masked Devil and Silver Princess.

Although the newly-moulted cicada will only live for about five weeks, it will have spent between two and 17 years underground before it begins its short life above ground, first shedding its exoskeleton, transforming from nymph to adult.

Can a cicada bite or sting you? No, but they can stab you, probably in error, thinking you are a tree.

What do cicadas eat? They eat and drink sap from trees. If they invade your garden don't be alarmed. They won't attack your vegetables, flowers or fruit.

Next time you are walking down Orange's magnificent tree-lined streets, pause under a tree which has a lot of cicada noise coming from it and try to spot a single cicada. A pretty difficult task, but give it a try.