New Forest cicada  (Cicadetta montana)

Adult cicadas are on the wing from late May to early July, and this adult phase of the insect's life lasts from two to four weeks. Both sexes feed on sap from twigs with their stout, needle-like proboscis.

After mating, females lay their eggs in the stems of herbaceous plants, small bushes and even bracken stems. The eggs hatch after 50 - 125 days, and the nymphs burrow into the soil. They stay underground for a period of six to ten years, feeding on the sap from the roots of various herbaceous plants and shrub. In their final spring, the nymphs construct a clay and leaf-litter turret on the surface of the soil above their burrows. This is thought to give the emerging insects an indication of the ambient air temperature.

Adult male cicadas sing from low bushes and vegetation, the song being a high-pitched ringing buzz lasting for many minutes. The song is produced by a membrane within the thorax of the insect, which clicks to-and-fro at a rapid rate, and is inaudible to most people above the age of 40 years. It can, however, be received by a modified bat-detector. Singing is only performed in still air in temperatures above 20° Celsius.