Nina Pavan (special correspondent to Aiguilles), edited by Gauthier Delomez 06:15, August 17, 2022

These are songs that the inhabitants of the south of France and tourists miss.

In some places, the cicadas are no longer heard, while their song is traditional every summer.

Europe 1 went near Aix-en-Provence to understand the reasons for this musical absence, which the locals regret.

Usually in the peaceful streets of Aiguilles, near Aix-en-Provence, the chirping of cicadas punctuates the afternoon.

Sitting in the shade of her terrace, Natacha notes the silence this year.

"They are absent, we no longer hear them at all. No more cicadas singing, we miss it", she breathes at the microphone of Europe 1. In reality, these insects are silent at the moment in the south of France, where their presence is so characteristic, due to the climate and the strong heat of this summer.

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For Jean-Baptiste, when the cicadas no longer sing, Provence goes out.

"The villages are dying, there is nothing left. The heat is killing us as it goes, and I think the animals are leaving little by little," he laments.

Too high temperatures this summer

It is the heat that impacts the cicadas.

Their love season was ahead this year.

“We have a very significant heat wave, with an early spring when cicadas appeared in large quantities in June and July,” explains Gérard Filippi, insect specialist for Ecotonia, a naturalist expertise firm.

"What is certain is that their life cycle started much earlier. It is normal that in August, cicada populations are lower than usual," he notes. .

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The heat peaks that the south of the country has experienced on several occasions also have a direct effect on these insects.

"It turns out that at a certain temperature, they have a regulation problem", continues Gérard Filippi.

"These excessive temperatures can indeed have an impact on the song of the cicadas", explains the naturalist.

Fortunately, these species are not endangered.

They are beginning to settle further north, towards the Rhone Valley, thanks to a milder climate.