Tsuyu - the Japanese rainy season, lasting about six weeks - is now in full swing, so scenes of blue skies and golden sunsets are now few and far between. However, the sounds of summer remain. In recent months, those wishing to enjoy a peaceful evening walk will have been disturbed by the croaking of thousands of frogs, who spawn in the rice paddies in spring. However, after the frogs stop croaking, a new, more deafening animal, replaces them: the cicadas, who loudly announce their arrival at the end of the rainy season. While children love to collect them, their habit of falling from trees, and disturbing sleep, make them an annoyance to many. Indeed, cicadas are some of nature’s loudest insects, and can even be damaging to human hearing. Time to buy some ear plugs, perhaps.