Evening cicada: The song that announces autumn

In Japanese, the "evening cicada" (higurashi) is a season word representing early autumn in poetry. Once the noisy midsummer cicadas quieten, the clear, slightly mournful "kana-kana" of the higurashi marks the turning of the year. Let's meet this "timekeeper of autumn".

Its body and its song

The higurashi is a medium-sized cicada, tending towards green or brown. It is best known for its "kana-kana" call. Unlike most cicadas, which love blazing midday sun, the higurashi prefers to sing at dawn and dusk, and even on overcast days. As the sun sets and the air cools, its voice grows especially clear, carrying a hint of changing seasons. That habit is exactly why its name means "evening cicada".

Where it lives and what it eats

Like other cicadas, its nymphs sip root sap underground for years, emerging in late summer or early autumn to moult into adults. The adults feed on tree sap and live only briefly — just long enough to sing, mate and lay eggs.

A name full of story

The Japanese game and anime series "Higurashi: When They Cry" takes its name from this insect. The work borrows the cicada's call and the image of evening to create a mood that is both peaceful and faintly uneasy. All of which shows how much culture and feeling a single small cicada can carry.

A note for grown-ups

You could listen with a child to how cicada song changes through the day — morning, noon and evening all sound different, don't they? Seeing that different cicadas keep different "schedules" is like reading a natural clock.