JAR FLY GIVES SONG OF SUMMER

By Marshall McClung
Contributing Writer to the Graham Star
Copyright  July 26, 2001

A sure sign that we are in the midst of summer is the insistent call of the "jar fly" probably better known to non-locals and the younger generation as the cicada. There are at least two schools of thought as to how the cicada got the local name of "jar fly." One is that when you catch one and hold it in your hand it "jars" or vibrates. The other thought is that the nickname came from the constant singing that might "jar" or unsettle some people's nerves who are not accustomed to hearing it for hours on end. Children used to catch them and play with them at length, holding them in their hands and frightening other younger children especially girls. Another mischievous trick was to convince the smaller ones that the singing was that of a rattlesnake.

It has been said that for its size, the cicada can make as much noise as a large animal, enough so that it can be heard for up to a quarter mile away. Any area in this region that you go during the peak of summer you can hear cicadas, so there must be millions of them.

Those who are supposed to know such things say that we have two different types of cicadas here. We have what is called the seventeen year locust and the harvest fly which appears during dog days. The seventeen year locust spends most of its life underground, the harvest fly only two years. We somehow manage to have both every summer. Only the males sing, vibrating their whole body. To some it is a shrill noise, to others the drowsy "song of summer."