14 DAY TRIAL // A few days back, we reported on how, according to a new study, about 20% of the planet’s invertebrates stand to become the victims of the new environmental conditions brought about by climate change and global warming.
Apparently, one particular species of insects (i.e. the New Forest Cicada or Cicadetta Montana, if one prefers), seems to have already fallen off the biodiversity map, given the fact that the last specimen was supposedly spotted back in 2000.
Because this particular species of insects is the only cicada native to the UK, efforts are now being made to determine whether or not it might be possible for some colonies to be in hiding in various parts of UK's New Forest, simply standing by and waiting for people to discover them.
Thus, as part of the New Forest Cicada Project, a team of researchers and environmentalists are currently working on developing a new smartphone app that, once downloaded and set to work, can pick out the high-pitched sound emitted by cicadas.
But for this app, finding these insects in the forest would be a rather difficult task to accomplish, as the song emitted by them has a very high pitch that escapes human ears most of the time.
Because cicadas share the forest with other insects, this app will need to be “taught” how to distinguish amongst the sounds produced by cicadas and other singing insects that tend to resemble this species as far as songs go.
Once work on this app is completed, the New Forest Cicada Project will make it available for the general public to download, and those wishing to help track down cicadas can set it to work.
For the most part, walking around the forest and allowing the app to mind its own business will suffice.
Thus, once the app thinks it came across a cicada, it will inform the smartphone's owner and the latter can choose whether or not to send the recording to researchers in order for them to make head and tail of it.