They have returned and are already filling the city with their singing. Announcing the turn of the season to spring, which began last Saturday (23), cicadas are already filling the silence of wooded areas with the characteristic song of this time of year, which in the traditional belief of the population of Brasilia – and others spread across Brazil – means the arrival of rains.
The chorus that announces the arrival of spring actually means the arrival of the cicadas’ mating period, since the song sung is made only by males. In search of a partner, insects produce high-pitched sounds to attract them to procreate the species. On other occasions, however, it can be a defensive weapon against threats from birds, serving either to scare them away with their shrill sound or to alert them that they are nearby.
After finding a mate, male cicadas stop singing, breed and die. The females, in turn, before dying, lay their eggs in crevices in tree branches or on leaves. After hatching, small nymphs are born and make their way underground, where they feed on the sap of plant roots.
Buried, the maturation time of cicada nymphs present in Brasília lasts approximately four years, always underground. The ones we hear about today, therefore, are the result of mating in 2019. Before the rainy season, they finally leave the ground, climb tree trunks and go through a transformation process to become adults, leaving their exoskeletons behind. found in tree bark.
For Maria das Virgens, 56 years old, the sound produced by cicadas is enchanting because “it represents the call of the rains”. “Where I come from (Rio Grande do Norte), in our culture, that means rain. I’ve been listening to the cicadas singing and I already know it’s going to rain. There is nothing more beautiful than hearing the song of cicadas, it is an animal that is hidden, but very beautiful,” she said.
A nanny in the Southwest, she usually takes the child she cares for in the green areas of the Administrative Region and listens to the cicadas for a while. “In a way, it’s like a myth that brings warnings of good things. It’s very beautiful,” she said. “Cicada sang, it’s rain. It’s very hot, so I hope it’s going to rain, we need to cool down. I believe they will fulfill what they promise, because they only call the rain when it comes.”
The unique characteristic of insects usually appears at the hottest time of the year, but there are no studies that correlate the beginning of invertebrate singing with rain. According to the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet), rainwater, however, may take time to arrive in Brasília, which means that hot and dry weather is expected to persist in the capital for at least two to three weeks before the rains return. .
Heat wave
While the rains do not arrive, high temperatures like those recorded at the beginning of spring should become increasingly constant. Last Saturday (23), Brasília recorded the hottest day of the year, with 35.7°C in Gama. Due to the lack of rain and clouds at the beginning of the season, which block part of the solar incidence, other records should be reached in the coming days.
According to the spring climate forecast prepared by Inmet, it is “a period of transition between the dry and rainy seasons in the central sector of Brazil”. “It is also possible to notice the process of convergence of humidity coming from the Amazon, which defines the quality of the rainy season over the Center-West and Southeast regions and in part of the center-south of the North Region”, says the agency’s study.
Since September 16th, the meteorological station in Brasília, in the Southwest, has not recorded maximum temperatures below 30°C. The highest was recorded on Saturday, with 33.6°C. In Gama, the maximum index has been above the third decade since the 8th of this month. Until Thursday (28), the forecast made by Inmet is that all maximum temperatures will reach 35°C.
This Monday, relative air humidity should also vary between 55% and 20%, with few clouds and dry fog in the city. Likewise, this pattern should be repeated until Thursday, with even lower humidity, reaching 15% at minimum and between 50% and 55% at maximum.
Staying hydrated, therefore, is essential to preserving physical and mental health. Heat tends to bring a feeling of tiredness and fatigue, and water levels in the body need to remain high. The general recommendation is to drink at least 2 liters of water every day and not expose yourself to the sun during the hottest times of the day, between 11am and 3pm.
Fires remain a serious risk to human, plant and animal health in the DF. With the hotter and drier climate, in addition to the action of the wind, the flames can spread more easily.
The post Cicadas return and announce the arrival of spring in Brasília appeared first in Jornal de Brasília.
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