Cicadas are the sound of summer, and this summer that sound has been loud enough to explode eardrums.
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Dr David Yeates, director of the Australian National Insect Collection at the CSIRO, says you're not imagining it.
Warm, wet weather has meant ideal conditions for insects, including cicadas.
Dr Yeates recently holidayed at Jervis Bay, and said he was astounded at the number of 'double-drummer' cicadas he saw.
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"The double drummer (Thopha saccata) has quite a reputation - it's Australia's largest cicada, and reputedly the loudest insect in the world, apparently reaching 120 decibels if there are many around," he said.
"No wonder it can give you a headache walking through the bush.
"Its lifecycle is four to six years, mostly spent underground feeding on roots as a nymph. The adults live a few weeks and feed on eucalypt sap with specialised tubular mouthparts."
Not just a font of insect facts, Dr Yeates got creative with a cicada collection.
"I picked up these dead double drummer bodies on the beach in Jervis Bay, where there were countless thousands," he said.
"They must have flown out into the bay, fell into the water, drowned and eventually washed up on the beach."
Dr Yeates used about 120 five centimeter long double-drummer cicadas to make up the word 'summer'.
His work created a buzz on Twitter - we hope you enjoy it too.
